Outcast
by Sincarel
Summary: Living on his own since he was very young has left Naruto innocent and lonely. Things heat up as Team 7 stumbles across a Kyuubi possessed Naruto. Is Naruto ready for life in the village? Can anyone fill his empty heart? NaruHina. Rated M for later.
1. Outcasts are Alone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any other ninjas for that matter.

This story takes place two years after the Genin are placed onto their teams, thus the Genin are 14 years old. Things in the ninja world have not come to pass as quickly as they would have had Naruto been left in Konoha.

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**Outcasts Are Alone **

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"I'm coming for your soul. How long can you deny my freedom? It is only a matter of time until I will devour you, you pitiful excuse for a life form. Who will save you when you are all alone? But before you die you must first suffer as I have," Naruto started awake just as the red eyes had bore down on him. Shivering as much from the dream as the cold Naruto looked up at the sky. He must have fallen asleep while taking a break from training.

Sitting up slowly Naruto sighed to himself, "Who will save me when I'm all alone?" The only answer to his pondering was the silent mocking of the night sky. Slowly Naruto stood up and stretched as he walked to his cabin, where he had lived for as long as he could remember. "I wonder when they are going to bring some more food again. I hardly have any ramen left," Naruto always lost track of time. What did it matter what day it was when every day was the same?

Pushing the door open with his foot he surveyed the clutter that had built up on the floor, empty food containers, dirty clothes, unused weapons, the only thing in the whole room that had any kind of order was the stack of scrolls in one corner. Making his way through the garbage to his bed Naruto collapsed onto it in a heap of orange, not bothering to get undressed.

This is how things had been for as long as he could remember, alone. Every so often someone would stop by and leave him more food and trade some of the scrolls for some new ones. At one time he cared enough to try and learn who it was, but it had been years since he really cared about anything, other than training. Someone left more food and gave him some new scrolls to read, he just accepted the fact and left it at that. If they had wanted to talk to him they obviously knew where he was. Tomorrow he would just have to go fishing; at least it was something to do.

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Miles away in the Leaf Village another person sat thinking out loud to the night sky, "Who will save me when I'm all alone?" Again the answer came in the form of silence. Another pair of lonely eyes gave up searching the night sky for answers. Quietly the figure made its way back to its window and slid back inside. "Tomorrow we have another mission to do, I better get some sleep."

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"I still don't think it is right leaving him all alone out there, I mean if something happened to him no one would even know," arguing his case for the countless time, Iruka had still not given up.

"Do you think that they would even care if something did happen to him? Some still say that we should have killed him right on the spot, before the Forth Hokage's body was even cold. No, it is best to leave things the way they are. Some things should stay the same, its better for the village that way," knowing this would not change Iruka's mind the Hokage sighed. All he could ever do was sigh after telling Iruka that he couldn't bring Naruto back to live in the village, like he did every time he sent Iruka to deliver more supplies. "Before he died the Forth's last wish was that the people see Naruto as a hero who made a sacrifice for everyone, but few see him that way. Bringing him here would only cause trouble for Naruto," silently the Hokage finished his thought, "and who knows how much trouble people would case for him."

"Yes, Hokage I'll do as you wish, and that is to do nothing more than deliver the supplies," Iruka left the room in a huff like he always did after having this argument.

"How long will you follow orders Iruka, before you do something foolish?" The Hokage wondered out loud to himself.

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Early the next morning Iruka stood with Kakashi sipping from a hot cup of coffee, "Shouldn't you go meet your students, Kakashi? I though you said they were meeting you at dawn."

"Hold on, I love this part," Kakashi had his book out and was reading what looked like a dog-eared page. "So you can handle everything yourself today? Are you sure you don't want to wait and let me come with you?"

"Look, I know what the Hokage said and I am not going to do anything stupid," Iruka was exasperated because now even Kakashi was treating him like he didn't know his place. "Just make sure you are on time meeting up with me tonight, okay?" Kakashi's only answer was to close his book and disappear off to meet his students. After watching Kakashi leave for a moment Iruka headed out to pick up the supplies he was going to be delivering.

Watching from where she had stumbled across the pair talking Sakura smiled to her-self, "So that is why he is always so late."

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"So your mission today will be to look for an unknown assailant in the woods to the west of here. I'm not going to give you any more information than that. When you find that person they will tell you what to do next," Kakashi spoke in his normal bored tone.

Sakura glanced over at Susuke and raise her hand, "Is there going to be a time limit or anything?"

"There are no rules on this assignment, once you find the person they will tell you what to do next. Well, I have things to do and all, so off you three go," Kakashi made his exit in a puff of smoke.

Sakura watched as Sasuke quietly stood up and stared to make his way towards the gate, "Umm...Sasuke-kun I think that we should head to the west to look for Iruka-sensai, I saw him talking to Kakashi on my way here and he said something about meeting up with him later."

Nodding Sasuke started off with both hands in his pockets, not bothering to wait for his teammates. Sakura sighed, she thought he would have at least thanked her for the information. "Well let's go," Sakura started walking after Sasuke, but stopped when she didn't hear anyone else walking. "Hinata, are you coming?"

Hinata looked up quickly, she had been deep in thought and wasn't been paying much attention to her teammates. "S-sorry, I'm coming," Hinata said in her quiet voice.

Sakura noticed it looked like Hinata wasn't sleeping very well again. Sakura starting off right behind Hinata wondering what could possibly bug someone like Hinata; she always was slightly jealous of Hinata's high family status and advanced bloodline. "Oh well, at least I'm with Susuke and her, not someone like Ino," Sakura thought to herself.

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Iruka wasn't in a hurry to get to the cabin were Naruto lived. He decided to take his time so that he would get there under the cover of darkness. "I wonder what Kakashi had in mind for today's training mission. How did I ever put an Uchiha and a Hyuga on the same team? Hinata's not really as weak as people think she is. Well, I guess if anyone can teach the strange ones it would be Kakashi. I wish I could have convinced the Hokage to let me teach Naruto; he works so hard by himself. If only he was given the chance to be normal I wonder what he would do," Iruka continued musing as he walked along a long unused forest path.

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At the same time Naruto was just starting to get out of bed. He usually was good about getting up to train, but tonight was going to be a full moon and on nights like this he never got much sleep. For some reason he seemed more apt to lose control on the night of the full moon than any other time of the month. He supposed it had something to do with the markings on his stomach and the voice in his head. Whatever it was he usually would wake up somewhere out in the woods his body and clothes worse for wear, but not as bad as whatever formerly living thing that was always laying nearby. That is why Naruto hated nights like that. The only good thing was that he never could remember what had happened or what he had done.

Rising out of his bed Naruto slid his jacket back on, which he must have thrown off at some point during the night. On days with a full moon he noticed he seemed to be much more focused and his training always went much better too. He had taken to trying to wear himself out during the day so that he wouldn't have so much energy when night came around. Last night during one of his bouts of nightmares he had gotten an idea for some new fighting stances. The ones he had been working on still seemed to be too stiff and unnatural. Picking up the weapon pouch he used, Naruto headed out to his training ground. Looking up at the sky he noticed how cloudy it had become, "Aaahhhh! I hope it doesn't rain tonight, I'm going to get another cold."

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Team 7 was making good time. They had found Iruka's tracks easy enough, even if they were a ways behind him. Something was bothering Sasuke though, "It's almost like he isn't even trying to hide them. Be ready there will most likely be a trap somewhere up ahead."

Sakura swooned to herself, "Sasuke is so cool. He looks out for me like that all the time!" Sakura was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice that something else was starting to bother Hinata, and if Sasuke noticed it he chose not to mention anything. Sasuke was usually irritated at Hinata's lack of confidence, which sometimes got her and the team in trouble when the fighting started.

Hinata often came out into the forest to gather herbs for her medicine making. While she had never gone this far out from the village something didn't seem right around here. There seemed to be no animals around, there were signs that they had been here in the last day or so, but there were none around now. More than just the fact the animals had left the area, was the odd pattern of them all heading anywhere but west. As usual she kept her thoughts to herself not wanting to bug the others.

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Like always there was no one at the cabin when Iruka got there. He could hear the sounds of someone training off in the distance. Leaving the supplies and scrolls he had brought with him Iruka sighed and decided to leave without even taking a look at the boy; if he did he may do something stupid, like talk to him. "Those idiots in town, how can they treat someone this way? If it hadn't been for his sacrifice we would all have been killed. Its not his fault that you used him to save your own skins, and yet you make him live out here all on his own, forever if you have your way too. Iruka silently left still fuming about what the people in town were doing to this poor boy. "Maybe I can get Kakashi to support my idea to let him come live in town, I'll ask him tonight after he gets back from his team's training in the woods," Iruka thought to himself.

Iruka had long ago admitted that some of his sympathy for Naruto came from the fact that he too was an orphan. He knew how it felt to be all alone in the world, and he also knew that some times the darkness and hatred would build up in you if you let it. He was worried even more lately as Naruto's training was focusing more and more on dangerous and offensive techniques. Iruka had to admit that Naruto was becoming a good ninja, especially in the eyes of someone who knew who and what he was. If Naruto began to hate the Leaf Village he could become a very dangerous person, and none of that would have ever even become a possibility if he had been treated differently.

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Naruto sighed, he had really gone all out that day, but it had really paid off. He had finally gotten his technique just the way he wanted it. The sky was already darkening as he sat eating a bowl of ramen from his new supply, "Someday I am going to find out who comes by and leaves these for me, they taste so great!" Naruto was fully unaware that as he sat eating team 7 was steadily getting closer to him. Normally he was much more aware of his surrounding, being able to not only hear and smell, but also to sense the chakra for a good distance, but he was already thinking about what was going to go on tonight, which would be much too soon for his taste. Finishing his meal he quietly stood up to go and put his things away in this house.

Stepping outside, wearing one of his scrubbier sets of clothing, Naruto could already feel the call of the cool night air to the voice, what he thought of as his alter ego, as he ran off into the wood. A smile played on his lips, after nights like these the nightmare would finally lessen till this time next month; he would be able to rest peacefully for a while again. Little did he know that his alter ego was also mirroring his smile, as it had sensed what Naruto had not.

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Team 7 had been following Iruka's tracks all day and just after night had fallen they had come to what looked to be a training ground with a small cabin sitting near by. This must be where Kakashi had sent Iruka to meet them. "Hinata, take a look around to see if you can spot Iruka," Sasuke ordered.

Nodding silently Hinata focused for a second, "Byukagen." Hinata activated her enhanced vision and began to look around for any sigh of Iruka. While she couldn't find anyone something kept blurring in and out of her vision, almost like it was trying to adapt it's chakra to avoid being seen.

"Well, what do you see Hinata?" Sasuke interrupted. He was already a bit on edge as he still had a feeling of something being wrong around this place. This didn't make sense; it was all too simple for something that Kakashi had come up with.

"Iruka doesn't look to be here, but..." Hinata trailed off, "s-sorry, its nothing." A gasp from Sakura made both Hinata and Sasuke spin around expecting an attack or a trap, but both saw that Sakura was looking at some strange scratch marks on one of the boulders they were hiding behind. It looked as if someone had cut the stone with a blade, leaving deep groves in it. In the excitement Hinata had not released the Byukagen yet and for Sakura's sake it was a very lucky thing. "Sakura get down," Hinata warned Sakura just as Susuke pushed Sakura out of the way of some thrown attack.

"We need to get to some better cover, now!" Sasuke took off for the cabin at top speed with his teammates just behind him. Sasuke should have expected something like this from Kakashi. Just finding Iruka didn't seem like much of a mission. Reaching the door to the cabin Sasuke jerked it open and after both girls had stumbled through slammed in shut to find no latch on it.

Team seven listened for sounds of pursuit but everything was silent. Taking notice of the state of the cabin all three children seemed rather appalled by their choice of cover. Candle light revealed food containers, unwashed cloths and junk littering floor. It looked like the messiest room any of them had even seen. From the discarded weapons that had been throw into the wall and ceiling and the small pile of scrolls in one corner of the room it looked like a ninja lived here, but there were no decorations or pictures to tell them anything about the person who lived here. What was much more attention grabbing were the bloodstains that seemed to be a bit too common on almost everything in the cabin.

Suddenly Sakura grabbed her shoulder in pain. The others looked on as she pulled the shirt collar to reveal a deep cut in her shoulder. "How did I get cut?" Sakura seemed just as perplexed as her team mates. "That blade missed me, my shirt isn't even ripped." Sakura starred at the others as she put pressure on the cut. It wasn't a very bad cut, but the seriousness of the situation seemed to be solidified by the sight of her blood.

"Chakra," exclaimed Hinata almost making the other two jump, "that m-must be how I saw the attack coming from so f-far away." Hinata did her best not to seem too scared. This whole thing seemed a bit out of their league.

"Someone used chakra when they throw the blade, maybe it was some type of jitsu," Sasuke seemed more interested in thinking about the attack then in the situation they were in. All three members of team 7 jumped again as they heard something land up on the roof. They could all hear the sounds of something slowing circling the whole thing. "So the purpose of this training was to beat the person we found, this is getting to be a much more interesting mission," from the looks on the faces of his team mates Susuke was the only one holding that opinion. Just then things got a little to quiet to be natural. Everyone seemed to be holding his or her breath waiting for something to happen.

All three started as something smashed through the window and plowed into Sasuke, knocking him across the room and into the wall. After a cracking noise and a gasp he fell to the floor. In the commotion the candle in the center of the room was knocked over and had gone out. Something slowly got up from the floor, and stood considering the two girls slowly swaying back and forth like a cobra ready to strike, the moon light pouring into the room from the window only added to the sense of power and danger the person exuded. Hinata had managed to draw a dagger, but the still form of Sasuke lying sprawled out on the floor stunned Sakura. Finding Sakura the easier target the creature made its attack. Leaping into a crouched position on the floor mere inches from where Sakura was standing the attacker smashed into her unguarded stance. The force of the blow sent Sakura flying in the air to have her fall broken by the filthy table.

Hinata let out a squeak as the person turned its full attention onto her. Hinata was not one you would expect to put up much of a fight, but for some reason the flight part of her fight or flight instincts did not seem to be working. Hinata knew she couldn't beat someone who's movements were so powerful in the small confines of the cabin, so hoping for more room to fight and to draw the person away from her team mates she leaped out the window to made a run for the open grass of the training area. Glancing back to see if she was being followed Hinata watched of the person jumped through the window not minding the broken glass as it bite into it's hands. Standing up to his full height, the moonlight finally revealed the attacker. He appeared to be a boy about her age with unkempt hair, but on closer inspection she could make out the fact that he seemed to have an animalistic look to him, including a snarl complete with sharp teeth. He looked much more dangerous than the puppy dog look of another ninja, Kiba, who had been in her class at the academy.

Slowly he began to circle her. Hinata had seem animals out hunting doing this, he was either going to go for the kill or was just going to play cat and mouse with her. Dropping her dagger she went into her fighting stance. This only seemed to make the boy happier as her stopped circling and got into a low crouching stance with his sharply clawed hands open wide as if intending to cut her with them. Time seemed to stand still. Hinata was starting to wonder if he was going to stay there forever when he made his move. She saw him jump up into the air but when she looked up there was nothing there. Hinata heard someone landing behind her and spun around. The boy had landed there in the same position. Hinata wondered what had happened until she felt a pain in her ankle. Quickly glancing down she say a set of claw marks beginning to bleed. He was way too fast for her, time to try and even things a bit, "Byukagen!" With her improved vision she could hopefully keep up with his movements. This time when he made him move she managed to almost land a hit in his mid section, but she was rewarded for this by getting grasped by the hand while he was flipping over her and being thrown several yards away, to end up leaning on a boulder. Pushing her-self into a sitting position she saw the boy slowly approaching her again. Even without landing a hit Hinata knew that she had caused a lot of damage to him. He seemed to have an even more sadistic smile on his face as he approached, then suddenly he just blurred and disappeared from her vision.

A few seconds later, just as suddenly as he had disappeared he popped back into her vision with a look of surprise on his face as he let out a small cough of blood followed by several much more violent ones. Taking advantage of this Hinata struggled to her feet. Even without a direct hit her tai jitsu was more than dangerous. She had not really been aiming he attack, only striking out of instinct and a sense of self defense, but it looked like she had hit him right in his chest. Hinata's chakra charged attacks could easily rip up someone's insides in a few good hits.

Soon the coughing stopped and the boy seemed to regard her with much more respect. Hinata stood in her fighting stance waiting for the next attack, but all of a sudden the boy relaxed out of his fighting stance. Hinata's confusion only grew as he spoke to her in a deep voice that seemed to be evil incarnate, "You are much more fun than I expected, normally I would kill you where you stand, but I think it will be much more fun if I let him see what he has done. Those cuts from my claws are not just normal slashes, they each carry a sort of negative chakra, and soon you will find pain that you never knew could exist, as your own chakra becomes poisonous to you." Hinata didn't seem to feel anything besides the normal throbbing pain of the cuts. Maybe he was just trying to intimidate her. Hinata's thoughts were interrupted when the boy's animal like features seemed to shrink into themselves. His eyes closed and opened in a much more normal human expression. Hinata noticed that the eyes, which had been almost a glowing red, were now a deep blue. Along with that she noticed that the boy went through several emotions in rapid succession; first bewilderment, followed by shock, almost fear at seeing her, finalized by a blank look as he passed out.

For several minutes Hinata just stared at him, not daring to move, when suddenly she felt her entire body start to burn from the inside. It felt like her entire chakra system was lava flowing through her. Grasping herself she fell to her knees in pain, "Help, someone, please help," but her plea was little more than a whisper, as she sprawled out unconscious on the ground.

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Kakashi looked up from the book he was reading. He had been waiting for his students to find him for hours, "Maybe I should go look for them, normally they are really good about getting their mission done quickly." After thinking about it a moment he decided to go tell Iruka that he would be later than he expected and then to go look for his team.

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Naruto hated when he woke up on an empty stomach, but for some reason he seemed to have a lot more than just hunger pains. "Well, I doubt I ate anything last night, or I guess I hope I didn't," that reason seemed good enough for him, and he tried to roll over onto his back. "Hmm, I'm more stiff than usual after an evening like that," Naruto thought. His legs and arms felt like he had been training for hours. Finally, with a sigh, Naruto rolled over letting his arms flail out. When his arm hit the ground, the ground seemed to let out a small moan of pain. This also struck Naruto as something odd. Now, Naruto's mind never woke up till much later in the morning, but it was curious enough to find out what was going on to wake itself up a bit early.

Opening his eyes Naruto was confronted with something wearing a pink/tan sweatshirt with oddly colored dark hair. "What kind of animal wears sweaters?" He asked himself dumbly. Naruto's mind was now not so sure it wanted to get up any time soon, if at all, ever again, now that he was slowly realizing what he was laying next to. Anything he was laying next to after a full moon would not be a pretty sight.

All at once the picture slid into place, full moon, the voice, some kind of new prey it had found and something about intruders. Bolting up right Naruto looked down at the unconscious girl, "What have I done?! No one has ever been around here, I never thought there would be other people nearby during a full moon!" Quickly Naruto crawled over to her side, "Wait, she is still breathing!" Gently rolling her onto her back he could see that he had indeed attacked her. He could see the scratch marks and bruises on her. Naruto had never had any contact with people before, so he was unsure of what he should do. Putting a hand on her shoulder he tried to awkwardly shake her awake, but she didn't even seem to stir, even though her sweater he could feel her fever induced shivers. Once he had awoken with a self inflicted scratch, and had spent hours in searing pain as his own chakra seemed to burn him from with in him.

Naruto gingerly lifted the girl up and carried her towards his cabin, only to find more surprises, not only was his window broken, but the room was trashed as well (Well, more then it normally was at least). When his eyes adjusted to the dark lighting of the room, he could make out the bodies of two others lying where they had fallen. What had he done last night?! Naruto, in his despair, almost dropped the girl he was holding as his mind reeled with the stress of trying to remember last night. Regaining his senses he made his way over to his bed, laying the girl on it he quickly ran to the pond making a makeshift washcloth out of his shirtsleeve. Soaking the cloth he returned to the cabin and laid it on the girl's forehead. Carefully making his way across the room he reached the selves that held the ointment he had used on his own scratches. It was one of the few things that he thought of as his own, as it had always been there on the shelf for as long as he could remember. Moving back to the bed her applied some to the cuts on the girl's ankle. Not knowing what else to do he put his dirty blankets over her shivering form.

Turning he looked over the other two children in his house, one looked as if she had been thrown though his dinner table, and the other looked like he had made a large dent in the wall before collapsing to the floor. Naruto was pretty good treating everyday injuries, as he often had to patch himself up after accidents while training. He first gathered up what few spare blankets he had and laid the two out on them; the girl looked like she had just taken a bad blow to the back of the head, and the boy looked like he had several fractured or broken ribs. Naruto patched them up the best he could and then sat in his now very crowded house. It was almost comical, for the first time he had met face to face with other people, and they couldn't speak to him. It was all his fault. The feeling of stiffness and pain from his chest was really starting to get worse, and on top of that he felt like he could use a good nap. Naruto propped himself up against the wall determined to not fall asleep in case they needed him or they just woke up and left.

From the way they were dressed and the weapons that they carried Naruto could tell that they too were ninjas, just like him. Naruto had to use all of his self-control from taking one of the headbands that the three wore.

Maybe they were the ones that had brought him food and supplies for so long. What if now that he had done this they didn't want to help him anymore? What if they woke up and decided to hurt him, he was out numbered three to one, even if they were a bit out of it right now. Naruto had never put too much thought into what other people would do if they saw him, or if he left to look for other people.

Every so often Naruto would refresh the cloth on the first girl's forehead, and finally around noon she seemed to finally start to stir. Naruto had been trying to think of something to say all afternoon, but had managed to come up with nothing.

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Hinata felt someone putting a moist rag on her head as the pain she was feeling slowly started to wear off. She tried remembering what she was doing last but came up with a blank. Slowly she opened her eyes to see a blond boy carefully putting the rag on her. Who was this boy? It's not Susuke, he has dark hair, and Kakashi doesn't look anything like this person. The boy had blond hair that was uneven and messy, most likely from cutting his own hair, she noted in the back of her mind. His eyes looked like deep blue pools and he had some sort of whiskers on his face. Wait, normal boys did not have whiskers. All of a sudden it all came back to her. Pushing herself away from the boy towards the corner of the room as fast as she could Hinata raised her arms up to try to ward off an attack.

Seeing this Naruto jumped back seemingly in more fear of her than she had of him. He had been starring into her eyes as she had been examining him. They were all white, even the pupils, nothing like his. Hinata watched in confusion as he suddenly grasped his stomach and after several violent gagging motions collapsed onto the floor. This didn't seem like the taunting monster she fought last night. "Why did he just collapse like that?" Hinata thought out loud.

"Because you must have hit him last night," Sasuke answered her. All the commotion had awoken him moments before. He was standing with a dagger in one hand and his ribs in the other. Shakily he made his way towards Naruto, a cold look in his eyes.

"Sasuke! W-what are you-you doing?!" Hinata knew that Sasuke was a very driven, if not cold person, but to kill someone when they couldn't even fight back? He did mention that his greatest ambition was to kill someone, but she didn't take that too seriously until now.

"I'm going to make sure that this monster doesn't have a chance to get up again," Sasuke had a calm look on his face. The thought of killing wasn't giving him any thrill, but he had to make sure this guy did not get up to fight again; he was just to dangerous. The unconscious boy reminded Sasuke of his brother, and that did not bode well for Naruto.

Just as Hinata was going to try pleading with Sasuke again a puff of smoke appeared in the room and Kakashi stood between Sasuke and Naruto. "Killing is not something that should be taken so lightly. Even an enemy has the right to live," Sasuke lowed the dagger he had raised in surprise. "I see the three of you have meet the greatest secret of the Hidden Leaf Village," Kakashi stated in his neutral voice.

Everyone looked back as Sakura let out a moan of pain as she moved her stiff body into a sitting position. She gave everyone a look of surprise as she surveyed the room.

"Sensei?" Sakura was very glad that Kakashi had gotten there in time to save them, even if she didn't show it. Looking at the boy lying behind him though she couldn't hide her confusion. "He is the one that beat us so badly?" Sakura looked at the orange lump of unconscious Naruto, who looked somewhat lacking to her. Inner Sakura's thoughts were much the same.

"Looks like it," Kakashi was recovering from the shock of finding his entire team beaten up by someone who had never actually been taught the ways of the ninja. One could only learn so much from scrolls; Sakura was a good example of this. How had he beaten them all, and then managed to treat their injuries after taking a good hit from Hinata's attack was beyond him. Not only that but he had obviously started his attack outside, and the only sign he could find of Naruto's movements was the broken window. Perhaps Iruka had something when he said that Naruto should come live in town so he could be taught at the academy. Taking nothing else into account just this would put Naruto on level with a genius. "You are all just lucky I decided to track you down after you never came and found me." Kakashi stated breaking from his thoughts.

"But I thought we were supposed to track Iruka," Sakura was sure that she was right. They had been talking together before the mission, and then Iruka headed out of the village, in the same direction they were supposed to go. Not many people just wondered out of town for no reason.

"I never said that you were looking for Iruka, it looks like you all made some bad intelligence assumptions," At the sound of Hinata's voice Kakashi turned towards her. "What did you say Hinata?"

"Sh-shouldn't we do s-something for him?" She pointed nervously at the blond boy on the floor, who had a small stream of blood coming out of his mouth and dripping down to the floor. Hinata knew not only how much it hurt, but how much damaged was done by her attack style. Her old teacher often expressed his disappointment in her progress by showing her how it was done properly. Hinata was glad that he was not teaching her any more; even if that just added to the disgrace she brought her family.

"Well, there's not much we can do here, I guess we will have to take him back the village with us," Kakashi knew that he was going to get in a lot of trouble for this, but he didn't have much of a choice right then. Hinata and Sakura seemed relieved that they were not going to just leave someone so badly injured all alone, but Susuke looked like he still wanted to argue about it. "You are not to tell anyone of what happened here, absolutely no one, unless I or the Hokage okay it. This means friends, and family are included."

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As the group slowly made their way towards the village, being slowed down by Sasuke and Hinata's injuries and by the added weight of carrying Naruto, Kakashi spoke to Hinata. "You did very good fighting someone so strong, if you would fight like that all the time you will become a much better ninja than you are now." Hinata blushed at the complement. "But you are lucky that someone was there to take care of you while the fever was so high, many people much stronger than you have been killed by it."

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Hinata was very confused. How did Kakashi know about the fever? Other people had been killed by the same poison? So had he fought other people before and killed them? How was someone her age that much stronger than her and her teammates? Why did he stop attacking her so suddenly last night? Why did he take care of her while the poison ran it's coarse if he was a murderer? She had so many questions, and no answers. This boy seemed to make no sense to Hinata, but for some reason she wanted to know more about him. She did not want to be afraid of him. Secondly, he was like her. She didn't know why she thought that, but she knew it was true. Maybe is was his pain filled eyes.

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End chapter one.


	2. Outcasts Are Not Popular

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any other ninjas for that matter.

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**Outcasts Are Not Popular**

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"That was more fun than I have had for years! If only I could take over more often! You should feel honored boy; I have seen fit to spare your pitiful life for some time, as I want to have some more fun with these fools before we die." Naruto was still unconscious from passing out in his cabin, but he was unable to escape the voice even when knocked out. He was very worried now. This was the first time the voice had not made immediate threats on his life, which meant that it had found another outlet for it murderous intentions. "Don't let them kill you boy, or I will do far worse to you. I am going to have more fun soon." The voice faded out of his mind as Naruto drifted back into his less disturbed sleep.

The ANBU that was watching over him noticed Naruto relax somewhat. Having been ANBU for many years he had seen and done many dangerous things, but this was by far the most dangerous thing he had ever been asked to do, watch Nine-tails as he slept in a bed in the middle of the hospital. After this it was time for a vacation, a very long vacation, far, far away from here.

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Staring up at the faces carved into the side of the mountain the Hokage was still trying to digest the news that Kakashi had given him. He was not mad at Kakashi as he knew that it was not his fault or his intention for this to happen. Something would have to be done and fast. A list of problems was forming in his mind. He had ordered that no one was to know that Naruto was back in the village. He had ordered several units of ANBU to not only guard Naruto, but to make sure that no one found out that he was in the hospital. If the villagers found out that he was there they would most likely try to strike at him, as this would be their best chance, when he was injured and vulnerable.

His next biggest problem was what to do with Naruto. Now that Naruto had seen people he was not likely to continue staying in the woods content to be by him self any more. This meant that he would be in the village one way or another. There was no way they could just send him away, as he would be a very dangerous enemy if someone turned him against the village, if he already didn't hate them. He would need a teacher, and that was another problem. While from what the Hokage understood he would need some time to learn some of the basic techniques and skills that he did not already have, he would quickly be more powerful than most of the ninjas that would be willing to teach him. Even among the Jonins he doubted that many would want Naruto as a student.

The Hokage made a mental note to send for Jiraiya. Even if he sent a message now, it would be a long time before anyone could track him down. In the mean time he had to find someone to not only train Naruto, but also to keep him out of trouble. In the past he would have asked the Uchiha clan to do something like this, but that was now impossible. The only family that still was powerful enough for this job was the Hyuga clan, but he would be hard pressed to get them to agree to something like this, as some of them were the main supporters behind having Naruto killed so many years ago.

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Naruto could sense that there was someone in the room with him. The person was very much on edge and seemed like he was ready to snap at any moment. He also could sense some kind of chakra over the room, like some kind of genjutsu. Lastly, Naruto knew without a doubt that he was somewhere he had never been and that it had many strong opponents all over it. Naruto knew that if he were going to try and make a break for it he would have to do it before any more people arrived.

Some noise in the hallway made the person in the room shift his attention for a split second and that was what Naruto was waiting for. He leapt up from the bed and dove for the window, but just before he hit it the world seem to spin and turn into nothing but a dark void. Naruto could feel that he was still inside of the genjutsu, but having no experience with dealing with jutsus like this he had no idea how to fight it. He felt like he was being watched, but for how long he couldn't tell. Time seemed to loose its meaning as Naruto sat in the dark trying to refine his senses to the point where he could sense something other than himself again.

Finally, he got something, or more likely someone let him sense him or her. He made his way through the darkness toward the person. He appeared to be an older man wearing robes and a large hat. Naruto could tell that the person was really not there, as he could not get any scent off of him. "Where am I?" Naruto asked, as it seemed the figure was content to just look at him. Naruto's voice dropped into a deep, threatening tone, "If you don't let me go, you'll be sorry when I break free." This was more Nine-tails than Naruto, but Naruto had never agreed with the voice more than he did now.

Laughing a bit at the threat the man didn't seem to be the least bit phased. "What are we going to do with you Naruto?" Naruto jumped back in surprise. Someone knew his name. He had never spoke with anyone, so there was no way that he had told it to him. Naruto didn't even know why he called himself that, but it seemed to work well enough.

"How do you know who I am?" Naruto was becoming more and more panicked. The part of him that was controlled by his instincts was starting to get more and more of a hold over him. Naruto had never been so scared in his whole life. Death seemed like a nice alternative to this place of darkness and solitude.

"Calm down Naruto and I will explain to you what I can," the Hokage knew that Naruto could not handle the whole truth, but he needed to at least know what was going on. He explained what had happened back at Naruto's cabin. This seemed to help calm Naruto down a bit, so he continued telling Naruto where he was and what was going on.

After the explanation Naruto asked in a quiet voice, "So I'm in a place full of other people?" Naruto was now becoming more excited than scared. People lived here, a lot of people from the sound of it. "Those people who were at my cabin were ninjas? How many other people are there here? Are they all ninjas?" Naruto had now switched over to curious mode, not even a hint of the darkness in his voice from a moment ago.

"If you want, you can stay here and I will find you a teacher," Naruto had never been so happy in his life, not even when he got a new batch of ramen, although that was arguable. He could stay with all the people; this meant that he would not have to be alone ever again. With so many people around maybe he wouldn't even hear the voice any more. "But," the Hokage continued, "Most of the people here will not want to have you around. Something happened long ago when you were just a baby, and many people in the village will blame you for it."

"What did I do to them?" Naruto spoke in a quiet vulnerable voice. Naruto had run over many different scenarios that had lead to his living in the woods alone, and some had included that he was a very bad person. Many nights he had lain awake in bed trying desperately to remember some far off event in his past. Some times, on nights when he was able to clear his mind he managed to catch snippets of some very negative emotions and memories.

"Nothing," the Hokage responded. "That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't really the truth," the Hokage thought to himself, "If only we could have been more prepared for this day to come."

"But then why will they hate me?" Naruto was getting confused. If he had not done anything then why didn't they want him around?

"Now is not the time to worry about that," the Hokage had wanted to tell Naruto why, but he just could not bring himself to do it for some reason. "Do you want to stay in the village? Either way I will make sure that you are taken care of." The Hokage wanted to do so much for Naruto, he owned Naruto's father more than his life, and this was the opportunity to give Naruto what he wanted, or at least try to.

"I want to stay with the people," it took Naruto a bit to answer the question. He had never had to make life-altering decisions before. "Was shrimp flavored ramen what he wanted for dinner?" Or, "Which stance would be best in this situation?" Now those are questions that he had experience with. Seeing the man smile at his answer Naruto grinned back. The man turned around and started fading away into the blackness. "Wait!" Naruto yelled after the figure.

"Don't worry I am going to be letting you out of here," the Hokage was a bit startled by the outburst, but not as much as the next one.

"Teach me to do this first, please," Naruto motioned to the darkness that was surrounding him. Even if he did not know who this man was, he could tell that he was a very powerful person.

The Hokage starred at Naruto for a moment before chuckling to himself, "he truly is your son isn't he." The Hokage smiled as he returned to the boy and sat down on the ground before him motioning for him to do the same.

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"It has been almost a week," one of the ANBU members spoke the thoughts of the group. "What if the demon is attacking him? I mean the Hokage is powerful, but not like the Fourth."

"He said not to worry and to leave them until he returned," Kakashi replied entering the room. He had noticed that the tension in the ANBU units was reaching its breaking point. Normally they were the most disciplined group you would ever find, but with just the mention of Nine-tails they were acting like scared children. If the Hokage did not return soon they would start acting on their own. He looked over at the sitting form of Naruto and the Hokage in the hospital room. He knew that most of them would really believe they were acting in the best interest of the village to simply strike the boy down now, before he could cause them any problems.

Just as the ANBU member was going to start arguing, the Hokage stood up and with his eyes still closed, "Any word yet from Jiraiya?" He looked very tired, but a small smile still played on the corner of his mouth. The Hokage knew he needed to go rest, or he would end up in one of these beds like Naruto. It had been a long time since he had used as much chakra as he had this week, not only maintaining the genjutsu, but also training Naruto how to do it. He had found Naruto a good student, but Naruto seemed to have a lot of trouble channeling his chakra. Normally this would not be much of a problem for Naruto, who seemed to have a huge amount of chakra, but with something like the Shadow-Cage jutsu it really limited how long Naruto could keep it going.

"Nothing yet, but he was never easy to find," Kakashi didn't voice it, but he doubted they would find Jiraiya unless he wanted to be found, whenever that was.

"Well then Kakashi, you better get ready for another student in a few weeks when Naruto graduates from the academy," during the week training Naruto he had been trying to think of anyone else that could and would teach Naruto and he came up with one name only, Kakashi. Iruka would gladly do it, but he was needed at the academy, and Naruto was already more powerful than Iruka from the looks of things.

"I'm going to go to school with the other kids!" several of the ANBU leapt back drawing weapons as the now very awake and very happy Naruto jumped off the bed, smiling.

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Team seven was waiting on the bridge for their teacher to arrive. They had been waiting there for the better part of three hours, not that that was unusual or anything. The overall mood of the group was very introverted, each busy with their own thoughts. Team seven was never a very cocky group, okay Sasuke was, but the other two were not; it had been quite the shock to be beaten into the ground by someone their age. They had really been put in their place by what had happened last week.

"How can someone be that strong if they have never even been taught how to be a ninja at all?" Sasuke growled out in frustration. He was the number one rookie in his class, but all he had managed to do was get shoved into a wall and pass out. Sasuke's hand subconsciously held his sore ribs.

"At least we got away with no permanent damage," the med-nins had been very worried about Hinata's inner coil system, but it looked like it was healing well and she would be able to channel chakra without pain in another week or so. "That boy fought like a caged animal, there was no way we could have taken him, even in a straight fight," Sakara was trying to cheer Sasuke up, but realized that was the wrong thing to say as Sasuke just scowled and turned to stare off into the distance.

Just then in his normal puff of smoke entrance Kakashi appeared. "Good morning everyone, sorry I'm late, but I had a meeting with the Hokage," Kakashi was still a bit worried about the decision on what to do with Naruto. The Hokage assured him this was the best thing they could do at this point, but it still seemed very dangerous to Kakashi. It had been a long time since the Hokage had to use some of his political power to pressure people, and he could tell that they would not like it one bit.

"Liar!" Kakashi was pulled out of these thoughts at the frustrated yell from Sakura. Team seven had gotten somewhat used to the constant stream of excuses from their teacher, but that didn't mean they liked standing on a bridge waiting for him for hours.

"Sakura what could I have done to lose your trust? I am so hurt," Team seven glared at Kakashi. "Anyway, something really important came up that I need to take care of, so we are going to have to cancel training today," both Sakura and Sasuke glared up at Kakashi with an expression of annoyance. "So you can have today off and do what ever you would like to," team seven started to move off in their own ways, as Kakashi called after Hinata, "Hinata, I need to go and speak with your father, so I'll walk home with you."

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Naruto was excited; today was going to be the first day he was going to be in the academy. The Hokage had explained everything to him. If he could pass the same test that the other kids his age had, he could skip the rest of the schooling, and get a teacher right away. The Hokage had wanted him to get settled before he started school, but he wanted to get started right away. Naruto even tried to tidy himself up the best he could, even though it really didn't help much.

Even before class had started Naruto could already hear the students gossiping about him. Most of it was just simple new kid gossip, but he swore he had her a few derogatory remarks sent his way. Things quieted down when the teacher walked in.

Iruka picked Naruto right out from the crowd, with his blonde hair and one sleeved orange jump suit he was easy to spot. The Hokage had told him what happened and Iruka had almost fainted, partially because he could hardly believe that Naruto was going to be living in the village, and partially from the fact that Naruto had single handily beaten all of Kakashi's team seven. Iruka could not wait to see what he was capable of.

Class started and Iruka could see that having Naruto in class was going to be a bit of a problem. First, the other kids spent a lot more time talking about him than listening to him lecture. Secondly, Naruto who was a very self motivated and self taught person did not have the attention span to sit idly in class and listen to a lecture on the theory of some jitsu, not that he didn't try. Naruto had long since fallen asleep on his desk.

Iruka called his class to attention and told them that they were going to go do some throwing practice. Naruto who had woken up shortly before listened with great attention and Iruka gave the class all sorts of tips on throwing various weapons. Taking the class out to the field where he had set up targets Iruka instructed them on some safety tips and told them to get started. As Iruka moved between students giving them some more tips he noticed that a good portion of the class was watching Naruto.

Walking over to where Naruto was practicing he could see why. Naruto stood in a slightly crouched position, one hand reaching into the weapon pouch on his hip, the other stretched out in front for balance, a look of extreme concentration on his face. With a sudden burst of speed he sent a handful of throwing stars whirling all over the place in a seemingly random pattern towards the target. All of which got really close to hitting the target, but none actually did, flying past in to stick in the trees or land in the grass beyond the target. The class which had been holding its breath during the throw took this time to let there stress over being outdone out by laughing at Naruto, some even making a few jokes about his aim.

From the vantage point of the school roof Sasuke also seemed pleased with the result, "Hmph, I knew it had to be some kind of fluke that he beat me. He can't even hit a target, there is no way he is better then me." Seeing enough he turned to leave, glancing at Sakura, who turned to quickly follow, him trying to make conversation. Hinata watched them leave then turned back to watch the happenings down on the field. It seemed odd to her, Naruto looked like he was not even trying to aim at the target.

Chuckling to himself at Naruto's attempt to show off Iruka walked over to Naruto, "Not bad Naruto, but I think you better practice hitting one target with one throwing star, before you try something fancy." Iruka said that as advice in his fatherly tone, not trying to put Naruto down.

"But I did hit the target," Naruto looked a bit confused. He looked over at the target again to make sure he was not mistaken. Counting to himself he was reassured that all twelve had hit the target.

One of the kids in the class, who happened to think of himself as the best in the class decided to explain things to this new kid, "You are supposed to hit the target not the trees, what do you think they are there for?"

Still not quite getting what they where all talking about Naruto grabbed another throwing star and threw it at the target. This time it slammed deep into the center of the target. The class all just starred at it, followed by slacked jaw confusion as the target fell apart into several pieces.

"Naruto, how did you do that?" Iruka had seen some good trick throwing before, but nothing like that. Iruka had always known that Naruto was meant to be a great ninja, if he got the chance, but he never even thought for a second that he would be this good. Naruto proceeded to explain that when he was about six years old simple throwing practice was too easy, as he would hit the bull's eye every time, so he had created a jutsu to make things harder. Right before throwing he would attached a second, invisible blade of chakra to the one he was throwing. At his current skill he estimated he could affix the blade any where within a foot of the real blade.

Iruka understood how Naruto had done it now. He had missed with the real blades on purpose, it was the invisible chakra blades the he was aiming at the target with. Not only was he creating the blades in the instant that he threw the real ones, he had to calculate where each ones was and how to make the path of each real blade so the invisible blades would hit the target, and not fly by when the real one hit the target. This was an advanced skill, even a much more experienced ninja would be fooled by it. The more experience ninja would see where each blade was going to fly, they would know that they were going to miss him, but because the chakra was invisible he would not see that he really needed to dodge much further than the real blades could reach.

Seeing the whole class was staring at him, as he was lost in thought, Iruka cleared his throat, "Very nice work Naruto, maybe you could help me give the other students some tips." Iruka patted Naruto on the head before turning and ushering the class back to work.

From up on the roof of the school building Hinata watched with a smile. She wished that she could be as good at things as she had seen Naruto be. She considered going to train, but decided that it was pointless as there was no way that she could become strong like that, instead she just stayed where she was and watched the rest of the class, well Naruto at least.

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Kakashi sat at the table where he had been directed to wait for Hiashi. The tea on the table had long since gone cold, not touched at all. Kakashi knew that he was going to have to wait to talk to someone like Hiashi Hyuga, but he had been there for hours. If it had not been on business for the Hokage he would have left long ago. "I hate it when people are late," he mused to himself. Catching what he just thought brought a chuckle to his lips as the door to the room finally opened.

"I'm glad you kept yourself entertained Kakashi," Hiashi knew that whatever brought Kakashi, the famous copy ninja, to his estate was not going to make him happy. "I am a busy man, so lets get straight to the point, I know that you are here on the behalf of the Hokage. What is it that the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village wants of the Hyuga?"

"Nine-tails has returned," Kakashi knew that the statement would get the response he needed. Hiashi's face stayed immobile.

"Bring more tea," Hiashi called to one of the servants that were awaiting orders. "We will be a while." For Kakashi to state that outright meant that there had to be more to it then met the eye. Hiashi idly wondered what the Hokage was thinking these days.

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Hinata had noticed, as the day went on, that the children of the academy found it extremely funny when Naruto had trouble doing something or got it wrong. On the other hand they seemed impassive or just plain ignored anything he was good at. The class had been instructed to take a pop quiz on Bushin no Jutsu, mostly out of Iruka's frustration with the classes lack of attention. Naruto had tried several times, but the closest he got was a midget version of the Hokage with a green nose. Hinata could tell that the laughter of the class was really starting to get to Naruto even if he tried to cover it up by being loud and trying to make jokes about it. Hinata knew how it felt when people put you down even when you were trying your best. That was how her whole family was. Nothing she did was good enough for them. Most of the time they had simply taken to ignoring her as a way of showing that they were disappointed, which Hinata found hurt just as much as when they had been vocal about how weak they thought she was. Perhaps it hurt more.

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Sasuke was still in a very bad mood, and the constant chatter of this unwanted companion was not helping much. Even though seeing the loser fail so bad had helped him feel a bit better, he still knew that he should be far stronger than someone who was not even a real ninja. He had been training hard with team seven and then continuing to train on his own when he could find the time, but that didn't seem to be enough. He would just have to work harder. Now if he could only get rid of the female bother that was following him he could get started right now, while he had a day off.

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Hinata was never what one would call a popular person; in fact most people wouldn't call her anything, because they forgot that she was there. Even without much social experience she did know when someone was being made fun of, and Naruto was being made fun of. A group of the students from his class were talking loudly with him outside the school building after school had been let out. She could tell that Naruto was not getting that they were being sarcastic when they were complementing him on his clothes. Hinata didn't think that the clothes he was wearing were in too good of shape either, with the wear and tear, not to mention a missing sleeve, but she thought the orange color looked good on him. Along with his clothes they also mentioned things like they way he spoke, he did have an odd, some what harsh accent, his long finger nails, the disarray of his hair, and his current state of homelessness. Throughout this Naruto made no sign that he thought anything they said was a bit rude.

Hinata knew from overhearing (okay spying on him) that he was supposed to wait at the school for someone to come and get him, and under no situation was he to leave until they got there. Naruto was telling this to his new "friends", but they seemed to want him to forget what he had been told and go with them into the village. It was going from asking him to the point of telling him to come with them. They seemed to want to get him in trouble. After some more arguing and some finally some name-calling they left him there, alone. Naruto watching the younger kids walk away laughing at him. Hinata watched Naruto let out a sigh as they left, he was probably a bit overwhelmed by all the attention he had gotten.

"So you went to school here too?" Naruto asked the question to the open air around him. He had long since felt the presence of Hinata, and not long after that caught her scent on the breeze that morning. He knew that she had been watching him almost all day. He had wanted to call out a greeting as soon as he had felt her nearby, but he remembered how he had met her and was not sure if he should talk to her on just leave her be.

After something to the effect of a small squeak, Hinata came out from behind the nearby tree she had been using to hide from Naruto, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to s-spy on you l-like that."

"I don't mind," Naruto had so many things he wanted to talk about, but was not sure how he should continue. "So did you ever find him?" Naruto asked, trying to break the ice.

"Uh, f-find w-who?" Hinata had no idea what Naruto was talking about. Her eyes roamed along his powerful arms up to his blast of yellow hair, causing her to blush even more.

"They told me you and your team were doing a training mission to find your teacher in the woods," Naruto was happy that he hadn't made a fool out of himself yet. At least she was not laughing in his face like the others.

"Oh, no w-we had to stop the m-mission to go to t-the h-hospital," Hinata saw that was not the thing to say, as he hung his head in shame as he bent down to sit on the steps. She could tell that he was worried about what had happened between him and team seven. "Don't w-worry about it, if an-anyone should apologies it is us. We b-barged into y-your house and then I-I," Hinata was staring to lose her little bit of confidence, but managed to choke out, "I-I almost k-killed you w-when we were fighting."

Naruto turned his head quickly to look at Hinata, a look of surprise on his face. Hinata took the expression as fear. Hinata was becoming depressed. Her thoughts quickly went to putting herself down, "Hinata, your so stupid. Now you made him think you are some kind of vicious murderer? Wait, didn't Kakashi say something about the boy killing many people?"

Hinata nearly jumped out of her skin as Naruto burst out laughing, "Don't worry about it, I always heal really fast. Nothing ever keeps me down!" Naruto flexed the muscles in his arm and flashed a reassuring grin. Hinata then noticed that he did not seem to look like he had been injured at all, even his badly glass cut hands looked as good as new.

"But you were in the hospital for over a week, because I-I hit your inner coil system when we were fighting," Hinata didn't even know why she was arguing the point, as she was very glad that he didn't hold his injuries against her.

"We fought?" Naruto had a look of genuine confusion of his face. Shaking it off he continued, "Actually, most of that time that old man, what's his name? Hokage-person, was teaching me a new jutsu. Hey! Do you want to see it? It's really cool!" Naruto was really excited to show off his new jutsu to someone.

Naruto had already preformed the hand seals when a loud voice stopped him, "A good ninja does not show off his skills unless absolutely necessary." Both Hinata and Naruto spun towards the speaker. Hiashi Hyuga stood several yards away glaring at the two youths.

"F-f-father," Hinata said in almost a whisper, bowing her head slightly. Hinata could tell from the look on his face that he was not very happy about something, and she hoped it was not something she had done or more likely had not done.

Naruto studied the man. He could tell that he had the same lavender eyes that Hinata had. From the stance he stood in and the feel of his chakra Naruto knew he was not a man to mess with. Instinctively Naruto had lowered himself slightly into his fighting stance as Hiashi walked towards them. Hiashi observed this and chuckling to himself slightly at the thought of fighting the boy, "You are going to be under the protection of the Hyuga clan while you remain in the village. As long as that is true we will make sure that no harm will come to you. The branch house has offered to house you, but for something this important it is the responsibility of the main house to make sure that we up hold the wishes of the Hokage." Hiashi turned and started to walk off, pausing to call back, "Come, we are going home now." Without looking back again Hiashi walked off down the street towards the Hyuga estate, Hinata, head still bowed, in close tow. Naruto watched as the two walked off down the now lit street. Never had he even dreamt that he would get a real home with other people in it, whether they really wanted him there or not. Naruto brushed a tear from his eye as he quickly follow the two Hyugas. Whispering so low he didn't think anyone could hear it, Naruto repeated to himself, "Going home now," with the second real smile he had used all day.

Unbeknownst to Naruto someone had heard it, and that small phrase chipped away at the icy cold hatred held in that person's heart.

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End chapter two.

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	3. Sympathy For An Outcast

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any other ninjas for that matter.

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**Sympathy For An Outcast**

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"Look how easy these humans take us into their home. Do they not know we could rip them all into shreds before they could even beg for their pitiful lives?!" Naruto was tossing and turning on the futon. "Damn that human for sealing me into this weakling! Soon they will know the mistake that they have made. I only have to bide my time for them to start to trust you and then I can strike out and make them all feel my true rage and power!" Naruto's face was a mix of fear and pain as he twisted and turned. "For now let me remind you that you are never, ever, the one who is truly in control." Naruto bolted up right into a sitting position letting out a yelp of pain as a wave of fiery pain shot through all the nerves of his body. Breathing slowly and deeply he opened his eyes to stare into the mirror on the wall, what he saw there was far more frightening than any of the previous things that had happened. He was greeted with his reflection with glowing, hate filled red eyes. Something Naruto had never felt before washed over him. Barely able to think all Naruto could do was repeat the same phrase over and over in his mind, "I am going to die. I am going to die." Kyuubi's killer intent was overloading Naruto's mind.

Naruto still gasping for breath, watched as slowly the glowing red dissipated from his eyes. The most frightening thing was it was still the beginning of the month. Naruto always was in perfect control until the end of the month when he had his episode and then returned to normal. This was the first time that he had lost control over himself to that extent, even while sleeping. Trying to calm himself down further he went over the events on the day. Going to school had been an interesting experience, but it was way too boring and the kids treated him badly. Iruka was a good teacher, but Naruto felt that he was used to teaching kids that were at very beginner levels and not anyone who was so far above a beginner in skill. By far the best part had been meeting Hiashi and Hinata. Finding out that he was to have a real home had made Naruto happier then he had ever been in his life.

Finally, the pain had faded away, so Naruto lay back down continuing to think about the day's events. Still thinking, Naruto changed his mind about one thing: finding out that Hinata seemed to want to be around him was the high point in his day, possibly his life, right up with being able to live with the Hyuga clan. She was the first person he had ever seen, and as far as he could gather, even though he had hurt her, she had forgiven him completely. The whole week he had been worried that he had made a really bad impression on the first people that he had met, but that did not seem to be the case. Even more of a surprise was coming into the Hyuga estate for the first time. Compared to his cabin it was enormous, stretching out into several large building along with gardens all enclosed by a wall. It was like a castle from the stories he had read when piecing together how to read from the books and scrolls left at the cabin.

Naruto was also shocked to find out that not all the people that lived there were members of the Hyuga family, but all sorts of servants, people who apparently were there to do what ever you wanted them to do. Naruto's head had spun as he was introduced to more people than he could remember. The rest of the evening he had spent alone with Hiashi, who had explained some more of the rules that he was going to be expected to follow. This had taken quite some time, as Naruto had never had anyone tell him he couldn't do something before in his life, which led to many questions. While Hiashi had told Naruto the rules were for his own good, Naruto knew that he was going to feel very restricted by them, at least the ones he could remember. Not being able to come and go as he pleased would make him feel very caged in.

Dinner has also been a very odd experience. Most of the main house and the branch house had been there. Again all sorts of new rules were explained to Naruto, who was not really in much of a mood to listen with all the new kinds of food that he had never had before sitting in front of him. Even after a minor scolding for eating with his hands, his newfound excitement could not stop the feeling that they were all watching him, as if waiting for him to lash out and kill them or something. He could smell the fear mingling with the scent of the delicious food. Along with all of the adults Naruto saw both Hinata and two other children there. He remembered that one was Hanabi, who was apparently the younger sister of Hinata. Naruto could tell that Hanabi was very good at hiding her sadness, something he wished he was better at. The other youth had been rather scary. Meeting Neji had been a bit frightening, as the fifteen-year-old chunin seemed to be constantly leaking smoldering anger.

Looking back over his day Naruto decided that it had been a pretty good day, even if he hadn't really got any training done. "I'm going to pass that test so that I can become a real ninja, no matter what!" With that Naruto drifted off to sleep again.

-----

"So, Hiashi agreed to put him under Hyuga protection? I don't know how you convinced him Kakashi, but good work," this was very good news to the Hokage, as he did not know what he would have done if the Hyuga clan would not agree to protect Naruto. Kakashi's only answer was to close his one visible eye and smile beneath his mask.

"I hear that Sasuke is getting tired of doing low rank missions. I'll see if I can't find something a bit more exciting for your team to do. I fear your team is going to be a bit crowded soon," the Hokage continued.

This would be good news for Team Seven, as they needed something to cheer them up a bit after such a bad defeat. "Has there been any word yet from Jiraiya?" Kakashi would feel much better once one of the legendary three ninja was back in the village.

Sighing the Hokage tapped the ash from his pipe and replied in a tired voice, "No, nothing at all."

-----

Morning came way too soon for Naruto. The sun was just starting to come up, when a knock at his door woke him. The last time he had seen a sunrise was when he had been up all night training. Naruto knew that getting up this early was going to take some getting used to, but at least he would have time to train before he went to school. On the tour of the estate the only two places he really remembered were his room and a training hall. Making his way there silently he was glad that it seemed to be empty, perfect for some pre-breakfast training. Looking around Naruto decided that he did not like this place as much as his own training ground, but it was a start.

Finding some training weights Naruto grabbed a mid-sized one and put it over his shoulder to began his morning squats. Not being used to following any kind of schedule he was surprised when one of the house people came to tell him he was late for breakfast. If he were not so hungry he would have kept training, but just when he was going to tell them to go away his stomach decided to let him know that breakfast was a good thing.

Following the woman into the dinning hall Naruto was again amazed by the number of people there, while not nearly as many as the night before it still felt like a crowd to Naruto. Taking the seat that was offered to him he sat down. He noticed that unlike last night he was now sitting not near the center of the room, but more off by himself in the corner. The people nearest him seem to finish their meals really quickly and left in a hurry. As he ate Naruto was beginning to think that whatever he was blamed for was a bit more important that the old man had let on. True there were people around him now, but this is not what he had been craving for, what he had wanted for so long. Naruto would not have been able to put what he had thought it would be like into words, but he knew this was not it.

Naruto was so intent on his thoughts that his breakfast sat almost untouched getting cold. Unconsciously Naruto was expressing his mood. As the whole room watched him out of the corners of their eyes, they saw a somewhat tired looking boy morph into a hunched mad man. Naruto was slowly clinching his fist around his chopsticks to the point of breaking them in his hand. Even then, he squeezed the wooden shards till a small trickle of blood dripped off the end of one of the sticks. His whole body was tensed up and it seemed like it was building up energy to explode. Hunched over the watchers could not really make out his outward appearance, but the shadow-covered face looked twisted in the light. A slight murmuring sound added to the feeling of dread the people of the room were feeling.

The atmosphere of the room was so tense that several people were even starting to get beads of sweat on their foreheads. All of a sudden the mood was shattered. Hinata stood up from where she had been sitting near her father and sister and picking up her tray moved over to sit across from Naruto. Hiashi seemed immune to the atmosphere, or at least chose to ignore it. After all the decision was made and they would just have to deal with it as he was.

"Naruto, h-here is an-another p-p-pair of chop s-sticks, you s-seem t-t-to have b-broke yours," Hinata somehow barely managed to stutter out. Naruto's head snapped up in surprise; he had been so deep in thought that he had not noticed her moving over to him. Nor did he hear the gasps of surprise from the other people in the room when he silently reached up and took them.

"Th-thank you," Naruto replied. As he took the chop sticks from her he saw the blood on his hand and slowly used his napkin to clean it off the best he could. Again feeling that all the eyes in the room were on him, he gave Hinata a fake smile and started eating his food. He knew that everyone in the room was still watching his every move. Naruto suddenly became extremely self-conscious. He noticed that compared to the steady, delicate bites of Hinata, he must look like some kind of animal shoveling food into his mouth. Even Hinata was watching him, though if she hid it better than the others. This was all too much for Naruto to take, so he got up quickly, without finishing his food, and quickly left the room.

Before he was out of his hearing range he could hear the whispered conversations of the whole room. This only made him feel worse, so quickening his pace he left the estate and headed to the academy, despite being over two hours early.

Naruto was glad that the other people in the village were not as early risers as the Hyuga clan, and thus he met no one on the street. Soon he found himself running toward the large tree with a swing on the academy grounds. Naruto managed to sit down on the swing and hang his head before he lost control of his emotions. He felt the tears drops fall despite his best efforts to hold them in. The only time he ever cried was when he was feeling particularly alone. Now he had gotten what he had always wanted, to be around other people, but the way things were going were not how he had imagined things. In his dreams he lived with a lot of other people and they all got along together and were friends. What he had found were simply people who never wanted him, and now that he was there they only wanted him to go back to where ever he had come from.

"Na-Naruto," Naruto was so absorbed in his thoughts he had not noticed Hinata's approach and started slightly as she spoke, "Just gi-give them s-some time to get u-used to you, I am s-sure they are j-just not used to having you around yet. If you tr-treat them really nice then they wo-wont have any reason to not be ni-nice back." Hinata lost whatever else she had planned on saying as the still teary eyed Naruto turned to look at her. Seeing someone she thought was so strong crying all alone hurt; it hurt a lot. Tears quickly formed in her eyes, and threatened to roll down her cheeks. Hinata was very empathetic to the pain of others, especially the pain of loneliness.

"Your right, I just have to try harder!" Naruto jumped up off the swing with a smile on his lips. Hinata was still in shock. Just a second ago she had figured out what it was about Naruto that made him seem so familiar to her. It was his eyes. The cold, hopeless look that they had held just now, reminded Hinata of her own when she started to lose hope. Only his eyes really had, at least for that moment. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Hinata noted that this Naruto scared her more then the demonic boy she had met in the woods.

-----

The day went by much the same as it had yesterday for Naruto. He was still trying his best and was still getting laughed at, but he noticed one major change. Not a single kid would look him in the eye or talk directly to him. Yesterday, he couldn't even keep up with so many people talking at once, but now it was like they all were pretending that he did not exist. When he asked Iruka about it during lunch, his teacher had looked kind of sad, and responded that he didn't know the reason for the classes sudden change of attitude. Naruto decided his teacher was not a very good liar. After lunch Naruto tried even harder to be funnier, louder and more obnoxious then he had before, just to get even a quick glance from his younger classmates, but even this didn't seem to get him the attention he so desired.

Naruto was overjoyed that he would be allowed to take the test in just a few more days. The other students would be taking a mid-term, but for him it was going to be the real thing. Naruto was glad that he wouldn't have to spend more time with the kids that treated him so badly. He would show them all just how great he was. They would have to pay attention to him them. Wouldn't they?

After school that day Hinata was waiting for him outside of the schoolyard. Before she had left in the morning she had offered to show him around the village. Naruto was really excited again, as he would get to meet more people and see more of the town he now called home. As they walked through the streets and talked, well Naruto talked and Hinata listened, Naruto told Hinata how much he wanted to get one of the head protectors that all the ninja seemed to have. As they were walking through the market area Hinata pointed out some goggles that were for sale as a temporary substitute. Making their way into the store neither had any idea that word was now out that the nine tailed fox was back, and that it was spreading like wild fire.

"That's not enough money for those," the shopkeeper told Hinata as she took the goggles that they had looked at up to the counter.

"B-but that is w-what t-the price tag says," Hinata argued softly with the man. Not knowing why he would miss price his own merchandise.

"I know what the tag says, but that is the price for people, not _him_!" The man pointed an accusing finger at Naruto who was sniffing around the some of the clothing racks in the back of the store. Hinata noticed that the motion had drawn Naruto's attention and not wanting another person to confront him like the children had at school the previous day, dropped the money required by the man on the counter and led Naruto out of the store. Trying to avoid his questions about what the man was talking about.

As the two continued their walk around the village Hinata was starting to notice what Naruto was trying his best to ignore. The group of people that had been watching them was slowing growing in size and voice. She could hear that they were angrily talking about Naruto and his presence in the village. Just before she was going to suggest that they head back to the Hyuga estate it happened.

Naruto, who was used to eating when he felt like it had taken an apple from a stand that they were passing and taken a big bite out of it. Hinata had not noticed this as she was keeping more of an eye on the large group of villagers, who were following them not too far behind. Hearing the angry shout made her spin back around.

"You little thief! What do you think you are doing?!," the fruit merchant had Naruto lifted slightly off the ground by the shirt collar. Naruto, apple still in hand was trying to wiggle out of the hold. "I'll teach you a lesson!" The man threw Naruto into the wall behind him. Before the man could even carry out his threat the crowd beat him to it. They seemed to be waiting for an excuse like this and were already shouting while throwing things in Naruto's direction. Hinata had been shoved aside almost as soon as Naruto was thrown and watched, scared motionless, as the villages threw fruit from the stand in Naruto's direction.

Naruto for his part had not moved much since he hit the wall. He sat perfectly still, as he was hit with the fruit and several heavier objects. The noise from the crowd drowned out the muttering coming from him. His fists slowing tightened as he fought to remain in control, his body slowly changing, becoming more feral.

Naruto's head was ringing from the tortured screams inside his head, "You would let them treat me like this!? How cruel is fate that one as great as I would be trapped inside such a coward? 'Be nice to them and they will have no reason not to be nice back?' **What a load of crap!** That is what the weak tell themselves so they can keep on living in shit; so scared they cannot even take their own miserable lives! **KILL THEM. I WILL KILL THEM ALL! THEN WE WILL SEE WHO IS LAUGHING**!" The Kyuubi's rant lost all human comprehension as it howled and smashed into its unnatural cage. Naruto was slowing losing to the voice for the second time in two days. He fought to keep control, but each moment the shouts of the crowd and the things being thrown at him were tipping the scales in the voices favor. Somewhere in his mind Naruto idly wondered if the red covering his vision was from his glowing eyes or the blood that was making them sting.

"Naruto, look out!" Hinata finally managed to gasp out as she saw someone throw a brick right for Naruto's head. Even if she could have moved, she knew she was not fast enough to stop it before it got to Naruto.

Right before the brick hit Naruto in the head a sudden blur appeared in front of him. A large cloud of dust and an explosion stunned the crowd into silence. Standing in front of Naruto was a very angry looking Hyuga Hiashi, his savior's hand out in front, covered in brick dust. "The boy is under my house's protection. If you have a problem with him you will take it up with me. Now, does anyone have a problem with the Hyuga house?" The crowd, which had taken much pleasure in tormenting the boy, did not seem to think that it was such a good idea to do the same to the head of the Hyuga household. Hiashi stood motionless, as the crowd slowly melted away, none having the nerve to try and stand up to him.

Meanwhile Hinata had been shaking Naruto's shoulder trying to get his attention, mistaking Naruto's lack of response for injury and not the inner battle that was going on inside. Finally, he seemed to come to and she helped him get to his feet and clean off some of the garbage that had been thrown at him. Hearing her father's voice startled Hinata as she moved to the side a step and let her head bow down so she would not meet her fathers gaze, a finger nervously supporting her lower lip. Hinata flinched as her father spoke.

"I though you had more sense in you girl. I am very disappointed, but we will talk about that later. Naruto," Naruto started at the sound of his name and looked up somewhat dazed at Hiashi, "follow me. Now." Hiashi turned to escort the youth back to the clan estate, and while passing the fruit cart, smashed it effortlessly, sending fruit and debris all over the street. Both Naruto and Hinata trailed right behind Hiashi as he made his way back to the Hyuga estate, not bothering to meet the somewhat angry eyes of the village that watched them as they made their way through the street.

-----

Arriving back at the Hyuga estate Hiashi had ordered Hinata to go and wait for him in her room. After that he kept Naruto with him as he made his way to the Hyuga estates bathhouse. After getting cleaned up Hiashi was trying to calm down in the hot spring when Naruto's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Why doesn't anyone want me here? What was it I did to them?" Hiashi opened his eyes to look at the boy sitting in the hot spring water not too far from him. Keeping him in the care of the Hyuga clan was going to be much harder than he thought. Not even the direct order of the Hokage was going to keep the village from taking up arms against Naruto. In addition to that Naruto seemed to have no problem asking Hiashi very touché questions, something no one else dared to do.

"It is not your place to be asking questions. Just do as you are told and nothing will happen to you." Hiashi could tell that the boy was really getting not only more depressed, but more dangerous with the treatment he was receiving. Ignorant villagers and genin like Hinata could not even hope to sense it, but Hiashi had felt _it_. Sometimes he swore he could feel the hate radiating off Naruto like a blanket of heat, but _that thing _was indeed there today. Normally, it was barely with in Hiashi's ability to sense, but at breakfast, and again in the street, he had felt it. Even now Hiashi could swear that he had heard voices, dark things not of this world. Whispering. Promising. Demanding. Even the hot spring water couldn't stop the slight shivers. Hiashi could count the number of times he had been scared in his life. Since meeting Naruto the count had doubled.

Naruto's only response was, "Oh, sorry. I wont bug anyone any more." Before turning away to stare out into the steam, zoning out the world.

-----

A week had passed and Naruto could not wait till the day of his test. After the incident in the market he was under strict orders to go to school and then come straight back to the Hyuga estate. He also noticed that Hinata was never around him anymore. He only saw her at dinner once in the last week, and even then it was a split second. He was starting to think that she was afraid to be around him after seeing what the villagers thought of him. Even with that thought he still wore the goggles she had given him every day, despite the snickers he got from some of the kids at the academy. At least he had some new clothes, although the Hyuga colors seemed to be in constant battle with his wild, yellow hair.

Naruto had been pacing around the Hyuga compound looking for something to do. He simply could not train here out of fear of destroying the training facilities. It seemed that his was a style that included much more collateral damage then most. Hearing the sounds of a scuffle, Naruto wandered into one of the courtyards on the estate. Stealthily moving through the cherry trees until he came to the clearing near one of the training halls, Naruto saw one of the elder Hyuga watching Neji and Hinata spar. Naruto had seen glimpses of the Hyuga taijutsu, and it fascinated him. From his hiding spot he watched as Neji plainly toyed with Hinata. Each time she tried, Hinata would be pushed back and eventually receive a sharp hit and be pushed back by the force. Naruto could see the bruises and angry red marks of closed chakra points all over Hinata's arms.

"Enough of this for today. Neji end it," the elder lazily commanded, a cruel smile playing on his lips. Neji fell back into his fighting stance as Hinata struggled to stand back up. Barely waiting for her to get shakily to her feet, Neji aimed at Hinata's chest intending to end it in a single blow. Much to his surprise however his strike was stopped inches from Hinata by a strong hold on his wrist. Hinata, already exhausted didn't need the blow to land to be finished; she simply toppled back to the ground anyway, her eyes slipping back to normal as her Byakugan slipped away. Looking up with shock evident in her expression at her protector, Hinata felt her heart skip a beat. Naruto was standing between her and Neji, looking quite dashing in his new Hyuga robes. This thought caused a blush to quickly form on her cheeks, despite her exhaustion.

"It looks like Hinata has done the best she can for today, huh?" Naruto asked without taking his eyes off Neji's Byakugan enhanced eyes. Neji scowled as his anger found a new target. Naruto now recognized this look; it was the same one that the villagers had when they saw him. It was pure unadulterated hate, although why someone would hate Hinata was well beyond Naruto.

"You have no right to interfere in our training exercise. Hinata's pitiful weakness wont be changed with smiles and sugar coated words. Life is pain and it is our fate to suffer. Only an idiot would not be able to see this." Neji yanked his arm free from Naruto's grip.

The elder felt like he had been given an early birthday. He would be damned if he let Hiashi do as he pleased, especially when it came to dealing with the demon brat. "Neji is right. You are out of line boy. Perhaps you would presume to assume you are superior to Neji and thus have the right to tell him what to do?" His smile was so large that is caused his eyes to squint as he saw his words drive Neji even wilder. "Neji would you be willing to show this boy a bit about how powerful a Hyuga is?" The elder may look down on a branch member like Neji, but this deficiently didn't mean he wouldn't use him. Especially when an opportunity like this presented itself.

Neji didn't even bother to respond as he moved into his taijutsu stance, glaring at Naruto. Neji would never admit it, but he liked hurting people; he just did. It made him feel powerful; it made him feel free. Naruto was slowly circling around Neji, crouched low, his arms spread wide open, fingers slightly apart as if he was going to claw at Neji. Neji simply kept pace with Naruto, turning with small measured steps. Naruto charged forward, in what he thought was a burst of speed, attempting to slash at Neji with his blue hued, chakra infused hands and nails. To Neji's keen senses Naruto may as well have stopped, explained exactly what he was going to do, closes his eyes, spun around till he was dizzy, then flailed his arms at Neji. "Not only are you slow, you're full of openings! I can see your attack before you even know what you are going to do!"

Shock was evident on Naruto's face as a resounding slap on is arm sent him off balance. Neji sidestepped and Naruto felt the sting of another slap on his opposite shoulder. Neji finished by sticking out his foot and letting Naruto trip over it, with a shove on the back to propel him further forward. Naruto stopped his fall with both hands, but as soon as he did he could feel the burning ache of the muscles in his arms. Naruto was very surprised to see his arms shacking with the effort to just hold himself up. Carefully, Naruto stood back up and turned to face Neji again.

"You insult both the Hyuga and myself by even pretending you could fight against the Gentle Fist Style with your pitiful attack." Neji was going to let this be lesson enough, as he knew that Naruto could barely feel his arms already, but the look of determination and resolve in Naruto's eyes changed his mind. Neji stepped forward and cockily waved Naruto to attack, which he did, over and over and over, until Neji had closed nearly all of Naruto's chakra points. Despite wanting to continue the beating, Neji knew that anything more would bring Hiashi's wrath. Glaring Neji turned to leave, "Now you know that one can not go against fate. Weak is weak, and nothing can change that." Having said his peace, Neji left, followed closely by the elder, lavishing Neji with praise for his abilities.

Hinata, who had been too frightened to intervene quickly went to Naruto's side. Naruto was still struggling to stand back up; even then he weakly called out after the leaving Hyugas, "I'm not finished yet, come back!" Hinata could see that he was in worse shape then herself. She knew how to lessen the damage that the Gentle Fist inflicted, meager though that mitigation was. She also only had a few closed chakra points, while Naruto had most of his closed off. He had been totally dominated.

"Naruto, p-please, that is e-enough. You didn't h-have to do that, n-not for someone weak like m-me…" Hinata had always wished someone would stand up to her teachers and Neji, but not to the point of getting hurt for her sake.

"I'll never forgive him, not until he admits how strong you are!" Hinata, who was already blushing from the contact of helping Naruto walk over to a bench to rest, turned an even deeper shade of red.

Then it hit her. Naruto had his exam tomorrow; there was no way he would be in any condition to pass it after the beating he had just taken. If he could perform any chakra molding in the next few days it would be a miracle. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that her weakness was going to cost him dearly. "Naruto, I-I-I am so sorry." Sitting on the bench, Hinata's lowered her tearful face into her hands and stuggled not to weep. "Because of m-m-me you're not going to be able to t-take your test tomorrow!"

"Don't worry about it, Hinata. I told you I heal quick! Just help me get to bed so I can rest this off, I am getting really sleepy." Even as he awkwardly patted her on the back, Naruto felt like shit; he could barely even feel his upper body. It was like the morning after a full moon. His whole body ached, even his internal organs. It felt like everything inside him was cramping up. Walking while heavily leaning on Hinata for support, it was everything he could do to not lose his lunch.

-----

After telling Hinata that he was fine for the better part of an hour, Hinata had finally agreed to not tell anyone about what had happened after Naruto agreed to let her apply her ointment to his very sore chakra points, and clean up all his scraps. After much stuttering and blushing Hinata rose and left Naruto to rest. Finally, alone to nap Naruto gingerly tried to mold some chakra and to his dismay he still couldn't. "Good going there hero! Fight a guy who you know closes off chakra points the day before the most important appointment of your life," Naruto growled out. All through the night Naruto laid in fear that he still wouldn't be able to come tomorrow.

Getting desperate as morning approached Naruto tried something he had never dared to do, he called out to the voice, "Hey, _you_. I know you can hear me. I want you to heal me up so we can pass this test. If I don't pass I am going to be stuck with the mean kids for another six months!" Naruto didn't know if he was just going crazy or was just plain desperate, but not getting a response was disheartening to say the least. Suddenly, he felt something stir in his mind.

"My dear boy, I will surely help my mighty host for a tiny fee," Naruto could almost feel the wickedness in the voice's words, but he needed its help, and resolved to give it whatever it wanted. "I will gladly open up your chakra pathways for you, if you say, break two fingers on each hand!" The voice rolled with animalistic laughter and Naruto could feel its pleasure knowing that he would do it. Closing his eyes Naruto grasped the last two fingers on his left and snapped them back. Even biting his lip till it bled didn't stop his yelp of pain. Wanting to get it over with he quickly repeated the process on his right. The grim deed complete he simply passed out from the pain.

Kyuubi was very pleased. That was more fun then he thought it was going to be! "I hope we can come to many more arrangements in the future," it smiled wickedly while spreading its burning chakra though his host's system. All of the chakra points burst open like a failing dams. "See you soon," Kyuubi smirked and left his unconscious play thing to go back to sleep himself, making sure to cut off it's chakra before it could fully heal Naruto's broken fingers.

-----

The next day Naruto nervously sat in the classroom waiting his turn. Finally, Naruto's name was called to go into the testing room. He would prove to them that he could be a great ninja, and then they couldn't just ignore him anymore. He would pass as the price he paid last night was far to high for failure! Naruto strode forward full of confidence, until he learned that he would need to do the Bunshin no jutsu, his worse skill. "That's my worst skill, but I'll do it!" Naruto finished his inner monolog and put his full power into making a clone, but the seals were sloppy and he could barely form some of them with his broken fingers. What resulted from the jutsu looked like how Naruto felt, simply sickly.

"I am sorry Naruto, but you fail," Iruka said in a sad, but calm voice, only to be interrupted by the other teacher with him.

"Iruka-sensai, he is technically far ahead of the rest of the students, and he did manage to make a clone; we could let him pass," Naruto looked up in excitement as the other teacher defended him.

"No way Mizuki. Every one else divided into at least three, but Naruto only created one clone, and it was a useless one. I can't let him pass," Iruka really didn't want to fail Naruto, but he had agreed that if Naruto was to pass it was because he was up to standard.

-----

Naruto again sat on the lone swing in the academy yard watching as parents of the kids praised them for finishing their midterms. Not only did that make him feel more alone, but also the snippets of people talking about him made him wish he could disappear. Slowly he reached up and pulled the goggles he was wearing down over his eyes, so they couldn't see how hurt he was or the tears soon to follow. After he could take no more, he ignored Hiashi's orders and started walking off down the street only to be stopped by Mizuki, who offered to go and talk with him.

About an hour later, just as it was getting dark, Naruto was feeling much better. Not only had Mizuki told him why Iruka had not let him pass, but also how he could get his hands on a scroll that would teach him the skill he would need to pass.

Leaving Mizuki, Naruto prowled off into the village to get the scroll that Mizuki had told him about. Getting it was way easier than he thought it would be, so Naruto soon found himself heading out into the woods to train the skill he needed to pass the exam. Unknown to Naruto, Mizuki watched him leave town with an evil smirk on his face.

-----

Hinata was awoken from her nightmare of Naruto failing his test, by the uproar going on outside her room. Moving to the widow she could make out her father, the Hokage, and a large group of ninja all conversing in loud tones. "Naruto has taken the scroll of forbidden seals and has a half night head start. He must be found and the scroll returned. Go!" the Hokage commanded.

Hinata gasped. With the way the villagers felt about Naruto when they found him they would not be too worried about what condition they brought him back to the village in. Moving across the room she got dressed as quickly as she could and snuck out of the estate. Hinata knew that Naruto still didn't have a good idea about the layout of the village, so if he was going to try and hide, he would go straight for the woods.

"Oh, Naruto, what have you done?" Hinata felt bad for not spending more time with him since the market incident, especially after what had happened yesterday during her training session, but her father had strictly forbidden her to even talk to him anymore. Hinata could not figure out why her father did not want her spending time with Naruto, but now she just didn't care what he said. Naruto was in big trouble if anyone but her got to him first.

-----

Naruto was sitting in a clearing trying to catch his breath back after working all evening to learn a skill from the scroll. "Figures it starts with the one I am so bad at," Naruto quietly chuckled to himself as he sensed someone approaching. Not too long after that Iruka came out of the woods looking somewhat angry.

"Naruto, do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused?" Iruka was glad that he had found Naruto first. At his question Naruto just smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Eh, sorry, but let me show you the technique so I can pass!" Naruto said jumping up. "Mizuki told me the secret and said if I could learn a skill from here, you would let me pass and be a real ninja!"

Iruka looked at Naruto with a funny expression, before lunging at him, pushing him to the ground. Several knives and throwing stars flew over Naruto, most finding a home in Iruka. Staggering back Iruka looked up at the smirking face of Mizuki. "Naruto, did you ever wonder why you live all alone in the middle of the woods with no one around?" Mizuki asked in a teasing tone.

Naruto was scared, not only was Iruka really injured, but Mizuki was talking about something that no one wanted to talk to him about. Mizuki continued, "It is because you are the demon fox that attacked the village fourteen years ago. Nobody here wants you, but if you give me that scroll we can get powerful together and show them who is boss!"

"Naruto," Iruka shouted out, "don't listen to him. Run as fast as you can and don't let him get his hinds on that scroll, no matter what!" Naruto who was hurt and confused turned on his heels and ran into the woods as fast as he could with the scroll.

"Not like he can get away from me. I'll deal with you later," Mizuki smirked down at the injured Iruka.

Naruto was trying to run as fast as he could, but the tear filled vision of the unfamiliar woods was slowing him down quiet a bit. Finally, Naruto was too tired to run any more. Mizuki smiled down on his unknowing accomplice. Slowly, Mizuki approached only to stop dead in his tracks as Hinata burst into the clearing, not far from where he was standing. Hinata stared at Mizuki trying to figure out what was going on. Before she had time to even gasp out in surprise Hinata found herself in an arm lock from behind, with a dagger at her throat.

"I really didn't expect you to be this resilient, but the chase is over Naruto. Hand over the scroll or I will slit her throat," Mizuki gasped at what happened next. Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke to leave a tired and very injured Iruka in his place.

"Mizuki don't do anything foolish. We can work something out. I am sure you had a very good reason to trick Naruto into stealing the scroll for you. Lets all go back to the village and explain it to the Hokage. I am sure he will understand as long as you don't do something drastic here," Iruka had no idea that anyone else would search this way so soon, much less one of the genin. It seemed that his plan to trick Mizuki had backfired, as Naruto would be far away now with the scroll and he had nothing but words to try and barter with.

"Get the scroll now! If you don't, I really will kill her," whatever else Mizuki had left to say was cut off as the real Naruto stepped out from behind a nearby tree. Mizuki let out a mad chuckle thinking that he had won. Naruto stood his ground, feet planted apart leaning slightly on the large scroll.

"You already hurt one of the three people who accept me, for that you will not be forgiven, but if you so much as harm a hair on Hinata you will die. You will die slowly and you will die painfully," Naruto's voice was still his own, but it had taken on an edge, it was very reminiscent, to Hinata, of the voice she had first heard him use when she had fought him. Even his accent had shifted to the harsher, deeper tones that seemed to hint of pains unknown. Mizuki was not so sure that his plan had been a good one after all. It was time now to bluff his way out of this and escape.

"If you try anything your little girl is as good as dead!" Mizuki knew that Naruto was dangerous, but he hoped he was right in his assumption that Naruto was rational enough not to do anything to put the girl in any real danger of him hurting her. Unfortunately for him this was not the case. When he had made his last threat Hinata had finally given into the stress and fainted. When she did, his sharp dagger had made a paper cut sized cut on her cheek. Having to steady himself with the additional weight of the unconscious girl, Mizuki made the mistake of looking down for just a second. When he looked up again Naruto was making the last of a set of seals so fast he couldn't even see them. All of a sudden Naruto bit his thumb hard enough to make it bleed and with three strokes made a crude symbol of an eye on his forehead.

In a voice not his own, Naruto shouted out, "Shadow-Soul-Cage no Jutsu!" Mizuki looked startled for a second before he went limp, dropping Hinata, the dagger and himself to the ground.

-----

Mizuki started awake. The first thing he did was look for Naruto, but not seeing him, Miuki looked around to get his bearings. He seemed to be in some kind of underground passageway system, the floor of which had almost a half-foot of stale water covering it. Standing up Mizuki started to carefully make his way though the passages. What Mizuki saw in there he would never speak of for as long as he lived, but would sometimes get a very hollow look on his face when asked about it as he murmured something about gate way to hell.

-----

Iruka had briefly passed out from a combination of pain and blood loss just after Naruto had performed his jutsu. Waking up, Iruka could not tell how much time had passed, but no one in the clearing had moved. Struggling to sit up in a better position, Iruka heard the sounds of Mizuki starting awake. Soon the sound of Naruto pushing him self to a standing position could also be heard. What happened next Iruka did not understand. Mizuki on seeing Naruto awake and well, let out a blood-curtailing scream and began to try and push himself away from Naruto along the ground. "Get away from me you monster! Get away! Go back to the hell that spawned you," Mizuki lost his voice after his last plea, but continued to hastily push himself along the ground.

"I warned you not to hurt her. I told you to leave her alone. You had your warning," as Naruto spoke he slowly walked towards Mizuki, lifting his hands up into another seal. Suddenly there were three copies of Naruto walking towards Mizuki. The number of Naruto copies kept increasing till a whole army of Naruto clones surrounded Mizuki. Even as Mizuki kept pleading, one Naruto stepped forward out of the crowd to face the terrified Mizuki. What happened next Iruka would only be able to guess as several Naruto clones moved to block his view. Later, Iruka was told that it took a whole team of ANBUs to pry Naruto's clawed death grip from Mizuki's throat. What was left of Mizuki was the battered and maimed body of a broken man.

Iruka very much believed that if the Hokage had not been able to find their location by sensing the massive amount of chakra Naruto had used, and ordered the ANBU squad to stop Naruto from killing Mizuki, Naruto would have continued until there was nothing left of Mizuki. Even after they got Naruto off of Mizuki, it was not until Iruka told one of the ANBUs to show Naruto that Hinata was okay that he finally stopped struggling like a wild animal to get free and attack Mizuki again. His limit reached, Naruto stopped to stare at the slowly awakening Hinata. "Oh, I'm glad your okay Hinata," was all he said as he fell to the ground completely exhausted. The clones disappeared in a large puff of smoke, leaving the clearing in silence.

Iruka limped over to the unconscious blonde and taking off Naruto's goggles, replaced them with his own headband. "Naruto, you truly understand what it means to have precious people."

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End Chapter Three.

Add some fuel to the fire. Post a review!


	4. Addicted to an Outcast

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto, or any other ninjas for that matter.

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**Addicted to an Outcast**

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"You better be careful boy, for a moment there I was proud of you! We cannot be having that too often can we? Kukuku. See, I told you how much fun it was to watch the life slowly drain from the eyes of your prey. There is no feeling greater then to know that the one you have chosen to die does so at your own hands. Someday I will show you how it is really done, but for now I will rest; I have been over extending myself too much of late and even more so with what you did to your prey. I will be back by the next moon, try to keep yourself occupied until then," the voice slowly trailed off in Naruto's mind.

Slowly the influence that Nine-tails had been exerting on Naruto for the past week faded away as Nine-tails, like his host, went to sleep. Even though he had chosen to let go of Naruto he was very pleased that he had managed to keep so much of his hold over the boy for so long. This was the first time the nine-tailed fox had slept so peacefully in over sixteen years.

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"Well what do you think we should do with him then Kakashi?" The Third did not see this coming. He knew it was a bit odd to have four genin on the same team, but he really didn't have anywhere else to put Naruto. While not overly hostile to the genin, not a single other Jonin had expressed any interest other then for the safety of the village over Naruto. Most surprising though was that this new problem was coming from an unlikely source. Unlike most of the village, the Third didn't treat Sasuke like he was the god's gift to Konoha. No, you had to earn his respect, and Sasuke was not doing a good job if it lately. The petty squables, insults and a few more questionable incedents with Naruto were starting to really weigh on the Third's mind. It wasn't helping Team Seven's team spirit either; inevitably either Naruto or Sasuke would set the other off, and then the girls would each back one side, battle lines drawn.

"Hmm, well after Naruto's bloody lip and Sasuke's black eye I seperated them. I have never seen Hinata so mad, heh. She might have attacked Sasuke if I hadn't…" Kakashi was good at a lot of things, but baby sititng teens was not one of them. Teach them to kill? Yes. Teach them while not letting them kill each other? No.

"Kakashi, I am going to give your team a bodyguard mission, sans Naruto, to get them apart for a while to cool off. It is just a simple C-rank to Wave Country. Make sure you make it clear that this is not a reward for behavior however." Kakashi nodded when the Third paused to make sure he was bing clear about that. "Do you have any idea what set them off?"

"Nope they wont say a word." Kakashi was already reaching for his Icha Icha Paradise book, so the Third knew he was as good as gone and dismissed him after the first giggle slipped out.

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"I can't believe he said that?! Just thinking about that jerk makes me want to smash his smug face again!" Naruto was ranting and raving as Hinata stifled a giggle at his antics.

"Naruto, you d-did not have to punch him though," Hinata was secretly glad that Naruto would stand up to anyone for her, but in this case Sasuke was right, she was weak.

"Oh, yes I did! He called you weak! You. Weak. Ha!" Naruto was pacing back and forth hands waving in the air when they were not making rapid gestures to punctuate his words. "And now you all get to go on a super cool, mission and I get left out like I am the bad guy or something. Its not fair!" Naruto pouted.

Hinata just looked down at her feet, pushing her finger tips together, " I am s-sorry Naruto, its all m-m-my…" Hinata's stutters trained off as she felt Naruto's warm hand gently touch her chin, pushing her gaze up to meet his. Her face felt like it was on fire; maybe she still had a bit of chakra poisoning…

Naruto just smiled one of his rare smiles, "You don't ever have to tell me your sorry Hinata." Hinata nearly passed out when his hand moved from her chin to her forehead, "Are you feeling okay Hinata? You look flushed."

----

Hinata was not looking forward to her first c-rank mission. It wasn't just that she didn't have the confidence that she wouldn't mess up, but it meant leaving Naruto for the first time since the forest incident. The last month had been the happiest Hinata had been since her mother passed away. Naruto was…well he was amazing. He was soaking up anything anyone would teach him like a sponge. Unlike herself who, "can't properly grasp the most basic technique of the Gentle Fist style."As her father put it.

Luckily, Hinata regained her focus just as her father finished his lecture about not embarrassing the clan in front of foreign ninjas. Not trusting her voice, she nodded curtly as he dismissed her to go meet her team at the gates. Quickly Hinata rose, grabbing her bag and made for the door. Closing it quietly behind her she nearly jumped out of her skin when she nearly walked into Naruto, who was leaning against the wall just outside the room. Hinata hoped that he hadn't heard what her father had sad to her, it was so embarrassing. Unfortunately, she knew he probably had, given his senses seemed to be very acute. Trying to cover her tearful eyes Hinata let out a small, "Eep," and ducked her face to hide her eyes.

Naruto didn't try to look at her; he could smell the tears. One thing he was desperately trying to learn was how to act around other people. When he first came to the village, after getting over his initial fear, he had blindly trusted everyone. That had lead to getting picked on at the academy and being attacked on the street when they went out. Naruto's voice sounded so soft, yet so sure, "He's wrong. You know? They all are. I can see you Hinata, and you can see me. I don't think I really care about the others…" Naruto paused catching his breath before his final thought spilled out. "I kind of wish you could have been with me and we could have been together. Not in the bad way like it was when I was alone, but a good way. Umm, so yeah…good luck on your mission! You're going to do awesome!" Naruto reached out for her hand and awkwardly held/shook it, not really knowing what to do. Before Hinata could think of a reply or even get the blood pumping to blush he was waving while running off into the Hyuga compound, not daring to look back. He promised he wasn't going to cry, and he didn't want Hinata to know he was close to breaking a promise.

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Hinata was the last member of Team Seven to arrive at the gates. Looking at their client, Tazuna, Hinata let a small scowl slip by her normally serene face. "This one looks super-weak too! I'm not sure these brats are worth my hard earned money." Tazuna took a deep swill of his sake and turned at the same time to wobble off down the dirt road. Hinata could see the rest of her team already mirroring her scowl. As if forecasting the future Sasuke expressed what Hinata felt, "This is going to be a long mission."

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The next two weeks were rough for Naruto. Not only was he back to being alone most of the time, but it seemed that some of the clan had taken to pulling pranks on him, or just straight up breaking or hiding his few possessions. When he trained with Hiashi, which was rare given that Hiashi was almost always busy with clan matters or personally teaching Hinabi, Naruto could tell that Hiashi was not happy about what was going on. What ever was going on, Hiashi didn't seem to do anything about stopping it. Naruto naturally responded in kind and fought fire with fire. Maybe Hiashi had a bit of a soft spot after all, he hadn't told Naruto to stop his pranks. "If you are not going to at least _honor_ me with your attention while I train you, then you can do it yourself," Hiashi was looking straight at Naruto having caught Naruto's mind drifting. Naruto looked a bit ashamed of himself, but perked up when Hiashi suggested, "Why do you not go stretch your legs and train on the academy grounds for a bit, Naruto."

"Can I? Alright!" Naruto simply leapt into the air and did a back flip over the Hyuga compound walls.

"Sigh, will I ever be able to tame him down some with manors?" Hiashi stood and looked up at the azure blue sky for a moment before retreating inside to get back to work.

Naruto made it to the academy grounds as stealthily as he could. Instead of going straight to work, or going to visit Iruka-sensei, he laid down in the grass to think for a bit. Thinking about loud was something that Naruto had always done since he had always been alone, "Its about that time again isn't it?" His hand moved to rest on the seal over his stomach. "Its odd that the voice has been so quiet, and I haven't had the normal nightmares yet." Of coarse the dreams he was having were in some ways far scarier. He had grown up dealing with dreams of death and suffering, but these new ones were different. He had dreamt that Hinata had been hurt not once, but twice. "Maybe the voice has a new way to torture me…"

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Later that evening, Naruto was sitting alone in the corner of the Hyuga dinning area, eating his dinner when it hit him. He had been enjoying his ramen (which he had literally begged one of the cooks to make for him) when a casual thought ran through his head, "Man, I really need to kill something, these hands are far too clean!" Naruto froze and turned an ashy gray. How long had it been? Without the dreams to gauge the time, Naruto had no idea. Time was a new concept to Naruto. Before there was light, dark, and killing times, not days, weeks and months. Naruto looked up for Hiashi before remembering he was at a council meeting. "Oh crap! I know Hiashi said not to leave the compound, but if I don't…" Naruto tried to leave the room as quietly and as casually as he could, not that it mattered. After the initial shock of him being there the rest of the clan pretty much ignored him since Hiashi let it be known that he would personally "train" anyone that messed with Naruto.

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"I've got to find a place to hide. I don't want to hurt anyone!" Naruto was stumbling through the undergrowth of the woods inside of the great Konoha walls; desperately looking for some place he could contain himself before he lost control. The bloodlust was becoming harder and harder to control. His features were shifting back and forth from normal to his more feral look, and his senses were in overload mode. He felt like his pounding head was going to explode from all the over stimulation it was receiving. He had never really tried to fight the voice before and it was not going well. Just as he was starting to lose hope he smelled it. Snakes. Looking around Naruto noted a dilapidated estate to his left and very dense undergrowth to his right. "Ah, well, better then a person at least…" Naruto thought already losing control with this little loss of will power.

Kyubi on the other hand loved snakes, or more precisely, loved to kill snakes. The Kyubi possessed Naruto made his way into the briar completely ignoring the cuts and tears on his cloths and exposed skin. Following his nose led him to the opening of a dank looking cave entrance. Naruto put his nose to the ground and smiled a sadistic grin. There were more then just snakes down there! Silent as death he made his way through the darkness into the depths. Naruto came to a sudden stop when we turned a bend in the cave to find a rickety looking wooden door blocking his path. Eyeing it up and down, Naruto did what came naturally. He grabbed the door handle and yanked the entire construction free of its supports.

There, in the darkness, glowing fox eyes met glowing snake eyes. Naruto licked his lips and growled, "The only thing I like more then the smell of blood is its taste!" Naruto's sharp canines cut his lips as he spoke.

A voice from the cave responded, "Really? Me too! I just knew we were going to get along, Naruto-kun."

----

"Hinata, what is going on here!?" Hiashi had returned from the council meeting to find the entire Hyuga estate in utter chaos. Hinata looked like she had just returned from her mission, as she was still covered in dirt from the trip home, as well as several visible bandages. The cynical part of Hiashi's mind noted the second fact, "Hmph, still as weak as ever. Maybe its time for another sparing session with Neji."

"I can't find Naruto! No one has seen him for hours!" Hinata didn't even turn around and bow to her father when she spoke.

"You will show me respect no matter how much of a fool you choose to make of yourself!" Hiashi growled. This was exactly what he did not need right now. Things had been so peaceful for him while she had been away.

Hinata looked like she nearly jumped out of her skin at his command, and turning he saw the reason why she had not turned. Hinata's Byakugan was activated and she was not even twitching her eyes around. (As in her eyes stare straight forward. If she did not have 360 vision she would need to move her eyes to look around. The Hyuga's see this as a bad habit and a weakness.) Despite still being mad about her conduct seeing this did soften Hiashi's temper a little. Jolting out of his inner thoughts he heard Hinata, head still bowed, stammering out apologies. "Enough for now. Tell me what you know."

----

It was nearing dawn by the time Hiashi got a solid clue to where Naruto might be. After demanding aid from the other clans, which he was sure he would pay for later, he had Hana Inuzuka on Naruto's trail. Naruto seemed to have left the Hyuga estate is a rush and dashed around town and then the woods aimlessly. Now they were nearing an old clan house out in the woods. Hana interrupted his thoughts, "Isn't this…._his _place?"

"If you are referring to Ochimaru, then yes," Hiashi hated dealing with people who were lead around by their emotions. Hiashi watched as Hana talked with her dog companions before turning back to him.

"They say the trail leads into a cave in that briar, but they wont go in there, and neither will I," Hana added defiantly. Her clan be damned, sending her to chase the Nine-tails.

Hiashi looked at her with an impassive disproval, "Your aid is much appreciated. Hinata go tell the Hokage…"

"No!" Hinata interrupted, immediately slapping her hands over her mouth with a look of shock on her face. Almost toppling over to bow low before her father she tried desperately to explain, "p-p-please let me go with you. I n-n-need to know Naruto is okay!" Hiashi arched his brow, plainly ignoring the barely contained laughter from Hana. Hinata had been acting different since she met the boy, it was almost as if… "Oh, this is going to be a huge headache," Hiashi thought, "but I can use this for now…" Turning his back on her he replied as he leapt up into the surrounding trees, "fine, but do not get in the way." Hinata, scared stiff, followed close behind.

The cave entrance was partially hidden by the briar plants, but that was no problem for the famous Byakugan. Silently the two landed near the entrance, and immediantly shut down their enhanced eyes. Reflexes caused them to even try to shield their eyes with their arms as the Byakugan had exploded into a sea of chakra colors and shapes more intense then staring at the sun through a telescope. Then it hit them; the killer intent so dense it froze even the battle harded and cold Hiashi. "Th-th-that's Naruto!" Hinata managed to whisper, "what is h-happening to him?!"

Not bothering to respond Hiashi ducked into the cave mouth with as much apprehension as if he was entering the cave to hell. Personal and clan honor demanded that he carry out his promise to the Hokage, even at the cost of his life. Hiashi was momentarily surprised when he noted Hinata right behind him. "Maybe this is going to be more useful then I thought," Hiashi pondered to himself.

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Naruto hurt. Not any particular part of him per say; he just hurt all over. His eyes didn't seem to want to listen to his commands to open them, his nose refused to smell anything but blood, and his arms felt strangely stiff, as if pinned. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lifted his head and his eyelids broke away the dried blood helping to hold them shut. The scene in front of him was what he had feared the most. Across the cave leaned up against the wall was the second friend he had ever made. Recent memories flooded his mind, and his tired mind did nothing to stop them.

Naruto was lying in the field of the academy again. "Maybe the voice has a new way to torture me…"

"Oye, kid, you hear voices? Like in your head?" Naruto shot up looking for the source. No one snuck up on him. Ever. Seeing him frantically looking back and forth the voice spoke again, "Up here silly. You know that humans don't naturally look up for danger? Makes ambushing weaklings like you easy!" Naruto looked up at the strange woman in the tree. She was wearing a skin tight, metal mesh body suit, with a skirt that was far too short and a large tan trench coat. Naruto tensed until he saw that she had a Leaf headband just like his.

"I'm not weak!" Naruto was going to go into a rant, but just then he finally caught her scent. Blood and something _hospitally _permeated it. Not even the large amount of sake she had consumed could mask it. "Umm, yeah. What's it to you?"

The woman just smirked down at him before taking a whole dumpling into her mouth. "I got me a voice too!" She responded while chewing. Naruto didn't know why, but something about her "I don't have a care in the world" attitude was making his skin crawl. "So why are you out here all alone?"

Naruto eyed her, but guardedly responded, "I was training."

"Really? Training what? Your napping skills?" The woman found her own joke extremely funny and laughed way too much at it.

"No! My chakra control," Naruto trailed off. Other then the Hokage no adult had shown this much interest in him. Even the other kids pretty much ignored him now, besides Hinata and in his own twisted way, Sasuke.

"Well, it's not going to improve itself. Get to work, you bum!" Naruto had no idea why she was yelling at him, but at least she didn't seem to be angry. Still eyeing her he tried to concentrate his chakra into his feet so he could climb the large academy tree. Despite a running start (Hinata's suggestion) he soon slipped up and landed on his backside. "Bahahahahahah, you weren't kidding. Your control sucks!"

Naruto glared at her. "You know, I may not know much, but shouldn't you at least introduce yourself before mocking someone?"

She just smiled back down at him, "Why don't you go first?"

"Umm, okay," Naruto paused. He had never really introduced himself before. "How?"

The woman nearly fell out of the tree laughing, " I don't know. How about your name, what you like and what you hate, maybe your dream or hobby?" At least this seemed to calm her down some while she hung upside down from the branch, using chakra to stop her laugh induced fall.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like Hinata and people who treat me like a person. I think I'm starting to hate everyone else. My dream is to become so powerful that everyone respects me and thinks I'm awesome! Then they wont hate me, so I wont hate them! My hobby is training."

Some how the woman was gulping down what was left of her sake bottle, still upside down while he spoke, and as he finished she introduced herself, "Mitarashi Anko, Special Jonin. I like snakes, things that make me feel good and dumplings. I hate almost everything, but especially a certain snake. My dream is too graphic for kids and so is my hobby!" Naruto paled a bit at that last part. Maybe she was one of those 'perverts' Sakura had told him about. "Now that we are best friends and all, maybe I can help you a bit with your chakra control. I bet your seal is messing it up."

Now Naruto was really suspicious, "How do you know about that?" Sticking out her tongue, Anko tugged at her coat collar. Naruto quickly hid his eyes, "I was right. You are a pervert!"

After a moment of silence Anko bonked him on the head, "Do you even know what that means? Here just look." Naruto cracked his eye lids open just slightly and saw that she was pointing to a seal on the side of her neck. Naruto reached for his shirt and tugged up on it. Putting a little chakra into it caused the seal to light up an eire red. "Mmm-hmm, just like I thought. Its leaking into you and making things go all 'bleh'. Your going to need to practice either shutting off that leak or pushing the chakra out of the way so it can't interfere."

Naruto spent the rest of the day being both tutored and mocked at the same time. He found it infuriatingly pleasuable to have Anko pay attention to him.

The sound of a single drip started Naruto out of his flashback. Oddly enough it wasn't blood that had dripped, it was drool. The body of Anko stirred a bit. Naruto watched in morbid fascination as the corpse yawned. "Wait corpses don't yawn." Naruto was trying to think about this when Anko gagged and turned to the side to vomit. When she was done, Naruto could see her whole body shaking in a cold sweat. She was tying to do something with a needle and veil, despite shaking so bad she could barely hold them. Finally, she finished what ever she was doing and without ceremony plunged the needle into her arm, injecting the clear liquid into her body. Naruto's eyes stung as he pushed their sensitivity up a bit. Luckily, her metal mesh seemed to be in pretty good shape, unlike most of her cloths turned rags. He could make out scars over much of her exposed body, especially around her forarms.

Anko let out a shuddering sigh of pleasure and finally looked over at Naruto, meeting his eyes with her own. She smiled in a drunken fashion and half crawling, half dragging herself through the blood, came towards Naruto to inspect him. Naruto didn't feel like he had the stength to do anything more then watch as she reached him and leaned in close. Her breath felt like fire to his abused skin. He felt her wet tongue slide along a still open cut on his cheek. It looked like she was going to come share the taste of his blood with him when a flash of chakra exploded into the opening of the cave.

Anko let out a surprised cry as she was thrown back across the room by a powerful and deadly strike from Hiashi. Had Anko been a normal person she would have most likely died from the attack. For what it was worth she wasn't normal, so she didn't die.

A second flash brought Hinata into the room, but she had the wind knocked out of her by what she saw. The entire room, from rock floor, to rotting wooden furiture, all the way up to the low hanging ceiling were covered in blood. The warm moist air was not as she had earlier thought from the cave, but from the drying blood that caked the room and the two people in it.

Her eyes wandered from the woman who was barely moving, to the thing hanging on the wall. Despite going into denial, her eyes just wouldn't lie to her and tell her that it was not Naruto pinned to the wall with a kunai in each wrist; and it wouldn't tell her that it wasn't his blood that seemed to be pooling on the floor. A large sinister seal surrounded Naruto's form on the wall, and seemed to pulse with a beat of its own. It looked like some scene from a barbaric sacrificial ritual. "Naruto, no!" Hinata yelled and she absently noted that despite her traitorous eyes the Byakugan was useful for the fact that it let her see through her tears.

As Hinata silently approached she could just barely see Naruto's chest moving. She could hear his heart beating, or was that her heart that she heard? Numbly she carefully removed each kunai and quickly stopped the bleeding from each wound.

"And this is the thanks I get for saving everyone? Well fuck, I guess it fits perfectly into the pool of empty promises and I.O.U.s I always get instead of a 'Thank you Anko for doing the dirty work we wont do ourselves," Anko was fumbling with another needle that she again stabbed into her arm.

Hiash still had not moved out of his deadly stance and was watching every move Anko made. "Still just another self pitying junky Anko? I had thought you would have grown out of it by now. The Hokage was very clear on my orders concerning the boy. Enjoy the sweet release of the death you so want trash," Hiashi moved to kill the woman despite the dumb look and confused smile she now wore. Just before the killing blow was delived, something that had never happened to him before took place. Someone had stopped his strike, with a single finger, and they did **not** look happy.

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End chapter four.

Before I get the post asking – No Naruto doesn't "need an adult" nothing like that happened.

Those who left a good review or asked a question should have all got responses. I try to generally answer any questions people have with out using long author's notes, as I personally don't like them. So, if you leave a question, I'll get back to you asap with a reply!


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